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MEXICO 
THE WONDEELAND OF THE SOUTH 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK - BOSTON • CHICAGO 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 




A TEHUANTEPEC BEAUTY, 

Wearing her elaborate costume, starched head-dress, and necklace of gold 

coins. 



MEXICO 



THE WONDERLAND OF THE SOUTH 



BY 
W. E. CARSON 



ILLUSTRATED 



Heio gorit 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1909 

All rights reserved 



t^ 



COPTBIGHT, 1909, 

By the M ACM ill an COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1909. 



248955 



J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 




WT' 



PREFACE 

Mexico is preeminently a land of picturesqueness, of 
romance, and of wonderfully strange contrasts. A period 
of twenty-five years has witnessed a general progress 
there which might easily have occupied centuries. But 
this very rapidity of evolution has worked against a com- 
pleteness of development and has left fragments of the 
ancient order that give to the country, in patches, the 
fascinating interest of olden days. The automobile, elec- 
tric traction, electric light, and the promoter have come ; 
the Indian with his hurro, the cargador with his burden, 
and the old-fashioned village priest have remained. Thus 
it is that in Mexico the old and the new are everywhere 
to be seen side by side. 

It is this strange mixture of the ancient and modern 
that produces such queer phases of life as exist in Mexico 
to-day. And it can be truly said, moreover, that no 
country of Latin America is so full of interest as the 
land of the Aztecs. With a wonderful past and an 
equally wonderful present, peopled by an ancient race 
with strange customs and traditions, it is also a land of 
magnificent scenery, of superb climates, and amazing 
natural resources. 

In the following pages will be found a concise account 
of my wanderings in Mexico, a description of the Mexican 
capital and other old cities, of the great haciendas, of the 
gold and silver mines, of some quaint health resorts, and 
of my experiences in mountain climbing, tarpon fishing, 
and ranching. 



VI PREFACE 

While dealing with all these subjects I have exerted 
every effort to make my book a book of human interest. 
I have tried, in short, to give an accurate pen-picture 
of Mexico as I saw this wonderful country in journeying 
from place to place, — the everyday life of the people, 
the sights and scenes that I witnessed, and the various 
incidents which marked my travel. 

During my stay in the Republic I had ample opportuni- 
ties to observe, in active process, the Americanizing of 
Mexico, which is destined to have such a far-reaching 
effect on the country's future. It was also my good 
fortune to be brought into sympathetic touch with Mexi- 
can affairs, and to learn much concerning the progress 
of the people, the policies of President Porfirio Diaz, the 
conditions of labor and the church, and the great agri- 
cultural and mining resources of the land. 

Such, in brief, is a summary of this book, the aim of 
which is to give a pen-picture fresh, accurate, and inclu- 
sive of Mexico to-day. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

I. The Tropics in a "Norther". 

II. From Orizaba to the Capital 

III. Mexico City by ]SriGHT . . ' 

IV. Mexico Past and Present 
V. The Sights of the Capital 

VI. Churches and Miracles . 

VII. The Life of the People . 

VIII. The Mexican Woman 

IX. The Foreign Invasion 

X. The White Man's Burden-bearer 

XL Mexico's Great Dictator 

XII. The Machinery of Government 

XIII. A Mexican Paradise 

XIV. The City of the Angels . 

XV. A Mexican Carlsbad . . . 

XVL The Valley of Oaxaca . 

XVII. Luxurious Life at a Gold Mine 

XVIII. Christmas at Los Reyes . 

XIX. Prehistoric Mexico . 

XX. Life in an Old Mexican Town 

XXI. In the Crater of Popocatepetl 

XXII. Guadalajara the Wonderful 

XXIIL "The Silver City" . 



1 

19 
44 
67 
86 
111 
123 
157 
170 
184 
198 
210 
219 
235 
249 
258 
272 
287 
300 
314 
328 
339 
355 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

XXIY. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 



The Titian at Tzintzuntzan 
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec 
Tarpon Fishing at Tampico . 
In N^orthern Mexico 



PAGE 

370 

378 
394 
404 



Index 



429 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

A Tehuantepec Beauty Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

Map showing Author's Route 1 

Mexico's Chief Seaport 5 

A Street in Vera Cruz 12 

The Blind Beggar 19 

A Typical Peon . . . 23 

Mexican Riding Costume 23 

A View in Orizaba 30 

Wonderful Engineering 33 

Watching the Train . .... ... 39 

Mexico's National Drink 42 

An Aguadore 42 

Calle del Reloj, Mexico City 48 

Reminiscent of the Past 53 

Calle Cinco de Mayo, Mexico City 60 

Ancient Picture Record 71 

Hernando Cortes 74 

The Emperor Maximilian 82 

Cathedral and Plaza, Mexico City . . . . .87 

The Mexican National Palace 90 

Pyramid of the Moon . . . , . . . .90 

ix 



X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACINC4 TAGK 

The Aztec Calendar Stone 94 

Ancient Aztec Pottery and Statue of the God of War 99 

The Paseo de la Reforma 110 

Stone Figures of the God of Fire and the Sad Indian 117 

Church at Tepozotlan 120 

Church of Guadalupe 124 

Typical Mexican Women of the Upper Class . . . 130 

Public School Children 130 

"Playing the Bear" 162 

The Ancient Race — Types of Mexican Indians . . 186 

President Diaz 197 

Madame Diaz 204 

Mexican Statesmen 211 

The Rurales 214 

The Awkward Squad 214 

A "Bit" of Cuernavaca 222 

A View from Cuernavaca 227 

Aztec Architecture 230 

In Old Puebla 238 

The Pyramid of Cholula 238 

A View of Puebla 246 

The Plaza, Oaxaca 257 

Tortilla Making 272 

Mexican Rebeccas 272 

A Valley in the Sierras 282 

Within the Ruins of Mitla 282 

Ruins of Mitla 312 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

FACING PAOR 

Ascent of Popocatepetl — View from Halfway House . 330 

The Journey's End — On Summit of Popocatepetl . . 380 

Cathedral and Main Plaza, Guadalajara . . . 343 

An Old Street, Guadalajara 346 

Quaint Old Guanajuato 355 

A Chamber of Horrors . 362 

Silver Mining .366 

Mexico's Art Treasure — The Titian at Tzintzuntzan 373 

The Mexican Tropics 380 

The Rocky Road 396 



MEXICO : THE WONDERLAI^D OF 
THE SOUTH 



CHAPTER I 

THE TROPICS IN A ''n 

A LONG line of flat, sandy coast with numerous sand- 
bars stretching seawards over which the surf was breaking. 
The land, covered with scrubby bushes and here and there 
a melancholy group of cocoanut palms, lay forlorn and 
desolate under the dark sky. Farther off along the coast 
I could distinguish a long, gray, straggling city, an islet 
crowned by the time-worn turrets of a white fort, and two 
great stone jetties branching out from the shore. We 
were running through a stormy sea in the teeth of a strong 
head- wind; and this was my first glimpse of Mexico from 
the deck of a Ward liner in the early hours of a November 
morning. 

From New York to Havana and thence into the Gulf of 
Mexico our voyage had been through seas that were beau- 
tifully blue, under a cloudless sky; and although it was 
winter, the air was as balmy as in June. But on the 
seventh day there came a sudden change. The tropical 
sky and warmth disappeared; dark clouds veiled the sun, 
a strong wind began to blow, the leaden-tinged sea was 
covered with white-caps. Then came a wireless message 
from Vera Cruz, warning us that a "norther" was playing 
havoc all along the coast. These "northers" are the 
winds which at frequent intervals during the winter swoop 



'1 MEXICO 

down from the ice-bound regions of the north and harry 
the Gulf coast shipping. 

The breakers were dashing and the spray was flying 
about the narrow harbor entrance, but inside was smooth 
water. In the old days there was no harbor at Vera Cruz 
and the only protection from the sea was a low coral reef. 
Then vessels in the roadstead were obliged to lie with 
steam up, ready to put out to sea the moment a ^ ^norther" 
began to blow; collisions were frequent. Within the last 
few years a fine harbor has been built, at great cost, by 
S. Pearson & Sons, the English engineers, consisting of a 
system of great stone jetties which extend round the reef 
and completely break the force of the sea. Now vessels 
can lie safely alongside in any weather and discharge 
directly on to the wharves. 

Bleak and mournful under the dark November sky, 
Vera Cruz had yet at closer quarters an extremely pic- 
turesque, old-world aspect. For about two miles along 
the shore stretched the city of low, flat-roofed houses; 
from among them rose the domes and towers of several 
churches. Conspicuous in the foreground was the new 
custom-house, a handsome structure of white stone, and 
not far off were the gray towers of the old cathedral. On 
a clear day, the distant snow-tipped peak of Orizaba forms 
a magnificent background for the port, but the famous 
volcano, when we arrived, was shrouded from view. 

Lying at the wharves were three American and two 
English steamers, a big German liner, and three small 
revenue cruisers, painted light gray, and fiying the Mexi- 
can ensign of red, white and green. A large and cosmo- 
politan gang of stevedores — Spaniards, Mexicans, Italians, 
negroes, Chinese, Japanese — were busily loading one of 
the American ships with bags of coffee and great bunches 
of green bananas; the German liner was taking in from 



THE TROPICS IN A ''NORTHER'' 3 

two lighters at once a cargo of bright red dyewood logs. 
For Vera Cruz is a busy port, despite the ''northers"; 
the bulk of Mexican trade passes in and out over its wharves. 
In years to come the northern port of Tampico is likely to 
rob the old town of much of its trade; but at the present 
time Vera Cruz handles over a million tons of imports 
annually, brought mostly from the United States and Ger- 
many, and including machinery, textiles, and such things 
as Chicago beef and bacon and tinned meats ; for Mexico, 
notwithstanding its wonderful soil and climates, is not yet 
a self-sustaining country. The exports are chiefly sugar, 
coffee, tobacco, rubber, dyewoods and various tropical 
fruits. 

Our liner went easily to her berth hard by the little 
island of San Juan de Ulloa, with its quaint battlements of 
gleaming white; beneath the walls a group of tall palms 
covered with their masses of fan-shaped leaves of vivid 
green gave a touch of the tropics to the scene. Upon this 
island Cortes landed on April 21, 1519, and here he con- 
tinued his wonderful career of conquest by burning his 
ships and marching away to the Aztec capital. The first 
fort, of which not a vestige remains, was built by the 
Spaniards. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it was 
seized by that bluff English hero, Sir John Hawkins, when 
he entered the harbor to obtain provisions and repair his 
storm-beaten vessels. Treacherously attacked by a large 
Spanish squadron which afterwards arrived, he was driven 
from the port with the loss of most of his ships, many 
men, and much treasure. The ancient stronghold, en- 
larged and rebuilt at various times, remained in Spanish 
hands for over two centuries. In later times it was 
successively captured and occupied by the Americans in 
1847 and by the French in 1864. It is now used as a 
prison. Vera Cruz was originally named La Villa Rica 



4 MEXICO 

de la Santa Vera Cruz (the Rich City of the Holy True 
Cross) from the reputed richness of the land in gold and 
the fact that Cortes landed on Good Friday. Since the 
Conquest it has always been Mexico's most important 
seaport. 

We were not allowed to land before the Mexican health 
officers had come aboard and examined us. Havana is 
regarded by the Mexican authorities as a hotbed of yellow 
fever^ and the Havana authorities regard Vera Cruz in the 
same light. During the winter months there is no yellow 
fever in either city, but that makes no difference in their 
fear of each other. Our steamer had touched at Havana, 
and the doctors accordingly subjected us to a rigorous ex- 
amination, putting thermometers in our mouths to take 
our temperatures and otherwise overhauling us. As each 
thermometer ran the gantlet of several mouths, and was 
only slightly washed with antiseptic between each, this 
ordeal was not a pleasant one. Some of us began to fear 
that we might have yellow fever without knowing it, and 
should be hurried off to some dismal quarantine hospital 
to end our days. It was a real relief to find that we had 
not. 

In the meantime a mob of gesticulating porters or 
cargadores had gathered on the wharf, clamoring loudly 
for patronage. They were yellow-skinned fellows with 
the coal-black, beady, furtive eyes of the Indian half- 
breed. Most of them simply wore a shirt and trousers of 
dirty white cotton, scanty and ragged ; a few had a loose 
jacket of the same material; all looked half frozen in the 
'^norther." Some had wrapped a tattered piece of blanket 
about their shoulders to keep out the cold. Some were 
barefooted, others wore sandals of a rough-and-ready kind. 

These cargadores, or burden-bearers, are familiar objects 
throughout Mexico. They are trained from childhood to 



THE TBOPICS IN A "NOBTHER'' 5 

carry heavy weights, and might also be said to inherit 
their wonderful capacity. The Aztecs had no beasts of 
burden, and the baggage of their armies was always car- 
ried by cargadores. The Spaniards, having few horses, 
continued this custom. Though most cargadores are not 
particularly sturdy in appearance, they can lift and carry 
enormous loads. It is not uncommon to see a couple of 
them carrying a piano through the streets. A trained 
cargador will carry a load of one hundred and fifty pounds 
over rough mountain trails and cover more miles in a day 
than a mule. The load is held in place by either a fore- 
head strap or a breast strap or a shoulder strap, or by two 
or more of these combined. As the cargador moves along 
with his heavy load, there is a good deal of straining of 
the straps, reminding one of the line in Omar Khayyam : 
^^Now for the porter's shoulder-knot a-creaking." In 
the towns the cargadores are licensed, and carry brass 
plates on their breasts showing their numbers. 

I stepped ashore, and instantly two cargadores seized 
my luggage. One took my bags; the other, quite a slight 
man, lifted my heavy trunk on his shoulders and trotted 
off to the custom-house. After the examination he trotted 
off with it to the railway station about a mile away. 

Leaving the water front, I walked out into the city 
of Vera Cruz, where I found that outside the principal 
thoroughfares the streets were 'almost deserted. This 
seemed strange for a city of thirty thousand inhabitants 
until I remembered the "norther," likewise the midday 
siesta which is still preserved as a sacred custom even in 
this busy seaport. A queer, dingy old place it looked, 
for the most part, the business places being ancient and 
grimy; the sign-boards with their Spanish wording were 
faded and battered. The buildings and houses are nearly 
all low, two-storied structures of solid stone or stucco. 



6 MEXICO 

seldom white, but generally tinted pink, yellow or blue; 
on the second stories are bright green wooden or iron 
balconies where the dark-eyed senoritas love to sit at their 
needlework and watch the passers-by. Oil paint is seldom 
used here or anywhere else in Mexico for the exteriors of 
buildings, and the water-color or kalsomine quickly fades. 
After one rainy season it becomes soft and streaked, so 
that even a new building soon looks quite antiquated. 

The narrow streets were at that time (this has been 
altered since) paved with rough, unevenly laid cobble- 
stones, and had open gutters in the centre. Small street- 
cars, painted bright yellow and drawn by two sturdy mules, 
ran through most streets, but there were no ordinary car- 
riages of any kind to be seen. I was told that the bad 
paving made it almost impossible to use them. On Sun- 
days I heard it was quite the custom for the townsfolk, 
even of the better class, to ride up and down the streets 
in the cars, enjoying the air and gossiping with friends 
who passed in other cars — the Vera Cruzan substitute 
for the Champs Elysees or Rotten Row. 

In the centre of the town is a small plaza, planted with 
palms and various tropical shrubs, where the local military 
band plays several nights a week, as is the custom in all 
Mexican towns. On one side of the plaza is the cathedral, 
built in 1734, though it looks much older. Not far away 
is the church of San Francisco, founded in 1568; its tower 
is now used as a lighthouse. Adjoining it is a convent 
which has been converted into a public library. The other 
sides of the plaza are occupied by the portales or arcades 
found in every Mexican town. Here are various shops 
and cafes and one or two hotels. On the sidewalk outside 
the cafes groups of men sit all day and almost all night 
at small iron tables, forever drinking refrescos, which are 
cool Mexican drinks, or, alas, the fiery American cocktail. 



THE TROPICS IN A ''NORTHER 7 

In this quarter of the town are the theatres, the exchange, 
and two or three pubHc buildings. 

Having to change some money, I went into a hotel where 
I was accommodated with Mexican coin in return for a small 
discount. To my joy I found that for every American 
dollar I received two Mexican. These Mexican dollars, 
called pesos, are not only larger than the American dollar, 
but contain a greater percentage of silver, yet their value — 
such are the freaks of monetary systems — is only fifty 
cents. However, that doesn't matter much in Mexico, 
because the purchasing power of the money is on a Mexican 
basis too. Thus, railway travel, hotels and most of the 
necessaries of life are somewhat less than in the United 
States. On the other hand, as Mexico, like this country, 
goes in severely for protection, most imported articles are 
extremely dear. 

Notwithstanding the delight of having one's supply of 
money automatically doubled, there is a dark side to this 
bright picture. On this occasion, part of my Mexican 
small change consisted of twenty-five silver dollars, each 
weighing nearly an ounce. I carefully distributed these 
throughout my various pockets, and thus burdened, felt 
like an ancient Spanish galleon loaded with pieces of eight. 
Notes and gold are in circulation, but they are not always 
easy to get ; the notes, too, when you get them, are often 
in a filthy condition. Silver, however, seems to be pre- 
ferred by the Mexicans, and they frequently carry their 
available funds in a handbag strapped over the shoulder. 

The design of the Mexican dollar is on the obverse the 
cap of liberty, bearing the word ''Libertad," surrounded 
by the rays of the sun ; on the reverse is the traditional 
eagle perched on the cactus, with a serpent in his talons. 
Although the engraving is very crude, it is impossible to 
improve it, because the Chinese^ who use the Mexican 



8 MEXICO 

dollars very largely in their own country, as being the 
purest silver coin in existence, would not accept them if 
the design were changed. At the same time, the roughness 
of the design makes counterfeiting very easy and its de- 
tection difficult, with the consequence that there is much 
bad money about the country. Other silver coins are the 
half and quarter dollars, and the ten and five centavo 
pieces, the centavo being worth half a cent. 

A negro who was lounging conveniently outside the 
hotel heard me asking my way, and promptly stepped up 
with a polite bow and a cheery smile. ''Let me show you 
round the city, boss,'' he suggested. He was a dapper 
colored gentleman of middle age, and had that half -famil- 
iar, half -deferential manner which distinguishes the average 
negro who has been employed in any serving capacity. 
Like most negroes, he was full of good humor, and he spoke 
Spanish like a native. I accepted his offer, and we walked 
on. As we strolled through the streets, my companion 
exchanged smiles and greetings with sundry Mexican ac- 
quaintances, one or two of them good-looking girls of the 
humbler class. He bowed with exaggerated politeness 
and lifted his hat with the words, ''Que tal ? senor" (How 
goes it, sir), or "Buenas dias, senorita" (Good day, miss). 

"You seem to be very well known here," I remarked. 

"Yes, sir,'' replied the negro, with an air of pride, "I 
guess I do know quite a few people in Vera Cruz." 

"How do you hke the Mexicans?" I asked. 

"Well, boss," was the reply, "it's dis yer way: dere's 
some mighty fine folks in dis town, but Lordy ! most of 
de poor people are trifling and no account. But," he added, 
in a patronizing tone, "what else can you expect of dese 
yer half-breeds ? No, indeed, sir, you won't find no such 
low-down, no-account people in any part of the States, 
'deed you won't, tank de Lord. 



THE TROPICS IN A " NORTHER " 9 

'^Dey's mean, too, dese yer Mexicans/' he went on; 
^'dey count deir centavos like dey was gold. Give me 
a genleman from New York or Boston, You never see 
'em counting of deir dollars." 

This gentle and diplomatic hint was thrown in, I pre- 
sume, as our walk was about to end. As we were parting 
company, the colored gentleman, with a grin which would 
have made the fortune of any negro comedian, remarked : 
^^ I's proud o' meeting a genleman from New York or Boston, 
boss; dey jest naturally know how to travel. Dey ain't 
like dese yer Mexicans. Dey's all right." 

It is a curious fact that, although Mexico adjoins the 
United States, few negroes ever cross the border ; and most 
of these are found in Vera Cruz and other towns along the 
coast. With the exception of a few employed by railway 
companies as porters for Pullman cars, there are almost 
none in the interior. Jhe ^'nigger" in Mexico, too, is far 
from being the subservient creature that he generally is 
in this country. The Mexicans, perhaps naturally, do 
not feel the color horror so general among Americans. A 
negro is granted equality in a way which astonishes an 
American; and he is something of a curiosity, too, ex- 
citing more or less wonder in Mexico wherever he goes. 
In small towns the natives stare at him and children fol- 
low him. Mexicans call negroes ''negritos," and think 
them very amusing. A woman of Indian blood would not 
lose caste by marrying one. 

The reason why negroes are so scarce in Mexico is that 
they cannot compete with the Indian population as laborers, 
and the wages are so small that no American negro could 
live on them. Some years ago an American company 
brought down two thousand negroes to work on a Mexican 
plantation, paid them good wages and fed them well. At 
first they were very industrious, and did more work than 



10 MEXICO 

the peons. Then they became lazy, many of them took 
Indian wives, loafed about and refused to work ; so they 
were discharged, and soon became destitute. The Mexican 
government compelled the company to take them back 
to the United States. 

After my stroll round the city, I sat down outside a cafe 
near the plaza to take, at my leisure, a first survey of real 
Mexican life. The scene was full of vivid contrasts. 
Across the street was quite a smart-looking costumier's 
shop, in the windows of which were displayed some dainty 
gowns and hats . This was the centre of attraction for many 
well-dressed women and girls, who stopped to feast their 
eyes on the fashions. Only a few doors away was a bat- 
tered, tumble-down drinking den, cavernous in its gloomi- 
ness, reeking of stale liquor, where scantily dressed, bare- 
footed natives perpetually passed in and out ; at the door 
stood a lumbering old wagon, drawn by two oxen, loaded 
with bananas — such a cart as might have come over 
from Spain with Cortes. Then there was civilization 
again in the shape of a bank, quite a substantial stone 
building, where much business was apparently being done. 
Now and again, a Mexican from the country would ride 
by on a spirited horse, his feet deep in the national pocket 
stirrup, on his head the steeple-crowned sombrero, or a 
native milk vendor, sitting almost on the tail of his mule, 
its back loaded with clattering milk tins; jolting baggage 
trucks passed, driven by Indians, cracking their whips 
and calling down perpetual encouragement to their mules 
of '^Mula, mula!" Then at noon, from the neighboring 
police barracks, trotted out a patrol of rurales or mounted 
police in their neat gray, silver-braided, tight-fitting uni- 
form and huge sombrero, Winchesters slung on their backs, 
revolvers and swords at their sides. 

But perhaps the most curious sight in Vera Cruz is 



THE TROPICS IN A ''NORTHER'' 11 

the city's unpaid scavengers. Hopping about the streets, 
outside the smart costumier's, by the cathedral, alongside 
the cafes — everywhere, in fact — were groups of zopilotes 
or turkey buzzards, equalling in size the largest American 
species. These ungainly birds act as public scavengers, 
and are protected by law ; the fine for killing one of them 
is five dollars. Hundreds of them can be seen perched on 
the roof tops or the church towers, waddling about the 
streets, fighting over all sorts of offal, or hurrying after 
the street-cleaners to claim the choicest bits of garbage. 
What with the zopilotes and their human assistants, the 
streets of the town are kept quite decently clean. 

Until recent times. Vera Cruz was a town of bad drainage 
and evil smells, and yellow fever raged there perpetually. 
During the summer months each year the mortality was 
often frightful. Whole ships' crews were sometimes swept 
away by this scourge, and an unacclimatized traveller 
visiting the city literally took his life in his hands. A 
few years ago the city authorities set vigorously to work 
to stamp out the pestilence. Much of the old city was 
demolished, and a new sewerage system was constructed, 
the sewage being taken out to sea, and contamination of 
the harbor thus avoided. A new water supply was in- 
stalled, and a relentless war was waged against mosquitoes. 
This thoroughgoing hygienic campaign ended in a victory 
for the city's health authorities ; and now there is practi- 
cally no yellow fever in the winter months, and even in 
the summer the cases are few and far between. There 
were only 21 deaths from the disease in 1908, accord- 
ing to government reports. Unacclimatized travellers 
who observe the usual precautions are generally safe now- 
adays at all seasons. 

Strangely enough, now that Vera Cruz has lost its evil 
reputation as a plague-stricken city, it has actually achieved 



12 MEXICO 

a new character as a health resort. During the winter 
months large numbers of people flock thither from Mexico 
City in search of sunshine and warmth. Situated as it 
is in the tropical region of Mexico^ Vera Cruz, even when 
a ^^ norther'' is blowing, rarely has a temperature below 
sixty degrees Fahrenheit, the normal winter heat being 
between seventy and eighty. The '^norther" which was 
blowing through the town when we arrived was not actually 
a cold wind ; it was simply bracing. But the thin-blooded 
natives are so accustomed to tropical heat that a sudden 
drop in the temperature to sixty degrees causes general 
suffering, and keeps every Mexican indoors as much as 
possible while the wind is blowing. 

The greater part of the thirty thousand inhabitants of 
Vera Cruz are true Mexicans, that is to say, people of mixed 
Indian and Spanish blood. There is a fairly large foreign 
element in the city, consisting mainly of business men, 
American, English, German, Spanish and French. In the 
surrounding country there are a good many foreign planters 
cultivating sugar-cane, coffee, bananas, etc. In Vera 
Cruz, as in all parts of Mexico, Spanish is the only European 
language known to the mass of the people, although owing 
to the increasing number of Americans in the country a 
knowledge of English is gradually becoming more general 
among Mexican business men. 

Vera Cruz with the "norther" blowing was a place to 
hurry away from, so in the afternoon I took the train to 
Orizaba. This mountain town, situated 4026 feet above 
sea-level, amidst beautiful scenery, is a favorite health 
resort for the Mexicans. The gradient is so steep for the 
greater part of the way that the train takes about five 
hours to cover the eighty miles from Vera Cruz. 

On Mexican railways the trains are arranged in the usual 
American style, and American rolling stock is generally 



THE TROPICS IN A ''NOBTHEE'' 13 

used. The Mexican Railway, however — the line between 
Vera Cruz, Orizaba and Mexico City — uses ^ some big 
Fairlie engines made in Glasgow. The trains are invariably 
divided into first, second, and third-class cars, the first- 
class car corresponding to what is usually called in this 
country ''a day coach." Only the night trains have Pull- 
man cars attached to them. 

Compared with an American train, the Mexican Rail- 
way's day train seemed rather shabby ; the first-class car 
was old and worn, and furnished with black leather seats. ^ 
It was, however, no worse than the ordinary first-class 
cars in which I afterwards travelled on other Mexican 
railways. The companies, I was told, could not afford 
to run Pullman cars on their day trains at present, as 
there are not enough foreign passengers to make it pay, 
and Mexican travellers are usually too parsimonious to 
pay any additional fare for the sake of more comfort. 

About twenty passengers from the steamer had taken 
tickets for Orizaba, so that the single first-class car was 
fairly well filled when the train started. 

The Mexican Railway, which is owned by an English 
company, has the distinction of being the first railway 
ever built in Mexico; it was begun in 1858 and finished 
in 1873. The track runs from the lowlands of Vera Cruz 
up through the mountains, and is a marvel of engineering. 
Some of the gradients are stupendous; at one point the 
line reaches an altitude of over ten thousand feet ; in some 
places it runs along the mountain side on terraces cut out 
of the solid rock. Owing to the magnitude of the work 
and the enormous difficulties of laying the track, the con- 

^ A change for the better has since been made. The Mexican 
Railway Co. now runs some comfortable, reclining chair cars for the 
accommodation of first-class passengers, and for which no extra fare 
is charged. 



14 MEXICO 

struction cost over $35,000,000, or about $125,000 a mile. 
The Mexican Railway is not only regarded as one of the 
best railroads in the world, but as a scenic line it is sur- 
passed by none, the views for most part of the way being 
magnificent. 

The country for miles round Vera Cruz is a vast sandy 
waste interspersed with swamps, the haunt of herons, 
wild ducks, alligators and snakes. This, at intervals, is 
broken by dense woods filled with aromatic shrubs and 
gorgeous wild flowers peculiar to the tropics. Leaving 
this unwholesome region, the line runs through a succession 
of banana and cocoanut plantations, miles of coffee trees, 
with their dark, glossy leaves and bright red berries, forests 
of palms and palmettos, groves of oranges and lemons, 
fields of pineapples and green sugar-cane. Novel as all 
this was, I must confess that, without the glare of sunshine 
and the heat which we have a right to expect from the 
tropics, the tropical vegetation lost most of its charm. 

We passed a number of small stations, mostly crude 
structures of wood, usually set in the midst of a grove of 
palms or cocoanut trees. Outside these a few yellow- 
skinned, barefooted natives would be seen, with their 
sarapes or blankets drawn tightly about them, looking 
half frozen in their thin cotton clothing and straw som- 
breros. Some Americans who appeared to live in the 
district boarded the train, and their talk was all about 
banana- and coffee-growing. But with the cool weather 
and the dark sky it seemed impossible to realize that one 
was actually in the tropics. 

The first important station at which we stopped was 
Cordoba, about sixty miles from Vera Cruz. This town 
has an altitude of 2713 feet and a population of ten thou- 
sand, and is just on the border of the sub-tropical zone. 
It is noted for its fruit and flowers as well as for its fine 



THE TROPICS IJSr A '' NOBTHEB 



17 



In Mexico almost everything depends on the altitude, 
and it is to altitude that Mexico owes its three climates. 
Being well within the tropics and near the equator, it is 
naturally always thought of as a warm country, but only 
parts deserve this character. Geographically speaking, 
Mexico is situated in North America. It has a maximum 
length of 1990 miles, is 540 miles across at the widest point, 
and has a coast line of over 6000 miles. 

On one side of this great country is the Atlantic or Gulf 
Coast, and on the other the Pacific. Along both coasts 
there is a broad, flat tract called the tierra caliente or ''hot 
land," which is wholly tropical. In this region grow 
tropical fruits and flowers of all kinds. Here, too, are vast 
forests with a jungle of creeping plants, where are found 
mahogany and numerous valuable dye woods, which are 
exported to all parts of the world. Much of this tropical 
region is unhealthful, though the winds from the sea 
generally mitigate the heat during the middle of the day, 
and the nights and mornings, as a rule, are pleasantly 
cool. 

As you travel inland from the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, 
the country constantly rises, until in the interior it reaches 
an altitude of six or seven thousand feet. A good idea of 
this peculiar topography is given by the following cut, 
which shows the profile of the country between the ports of 
Tampico and Manzanillo on the eastern and western coasts. 




18 MEXICO 

At an altitude of four thousand feet or more, a sub- 
tropical region known as the tierra templada, or temperate 
land, is reached, where the climate is perpetually delightful. 

A third region, six thousand feet or more above sea-level, 
is called the tierra fria or cold land, although it is not 
actually cold, for the mean temperature is not lower than 
that of central Italy. In brief, perpetual summer, eternal 
spring, and a temperature rarely cold enough for snow or 
ice are the climatic joys which Mexico offers to the shiv- 
ering American who travels southward in midwinter to 
escape from the blizzards of the north. 




'a^--:-di^^£M:?gl£^^&,, 



THE BLIND BEGGAR. 
" One penny, sefior, for God's 



CHAPTER II 

FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 

Nearly four centuries ago the soldiers of Cortes, march- 
ing over the mountains from the coast to the Aztec capital, 
came to an Indian town situated in a beautiful valley, 
intersected by rushing streams which kept it forever green. 
The natives called the place Ahauializapan or ''joy in the 
waters." The Spaniards, with their usual avidity, took 
possession of this attractive spot, but after heroic efforts 
to pronounce its name, they wisely changed it to Orizaba. 
Under Spanish rule, a new town arose on the site of the old, 
and this became, in time, one of the most important places 
in Mexico. For generations Orizaba was a haven of refuge 
for people who fled from the pestilent coast during the 
yellow-fever season to seek health in the pure mountain 
air. In later times it was a favorite resort of the Emperor 
Maximilian, who, during his brief reign, often sought rest 
and quiet in the quaint old town. To-day it is a popular 
health resort, and has a host of visitors the year round, 
its climate being perfect and its scenery charming. 

I did not see Orizaba under its best aspect, for like many 
other places, it has its dreary days. Pursued by the 
''norther," I reached the ancient city at seven in the even- 
ing, to find a heavy rain falling, while the chilly air was 
reminiscent of an American November rather than what 
one expects in the Mexican sub-tropics. Some Indian 
urchins, looking pinched and cold in their ragged clothing 
and bare feet, surrounded me as I left the train, offering 

19 



20 MEXICO 

to carry my bags. They were pushed aside by a pictur- 
esque-looking ruffian wearing a huge steeple-crowned som- 
brero and swathed in a heavy red blanket drawn up to chin 
height. He was an Orizaban cab driver, and he under- 
took to drive me to my hotel in his cab or coche, a heavy, 
lumbering vehicle of the station-fly order, with a capacious 
leather hood. It was drawn by two vigorous mules, and 
it needed them, for the paving of Orizaba's streets was even 
worse than that of Vera Cruz. 

I took a seat in the coche and was soon jolting through 
some narrow streets lined with low, flat-roofed houses and 
buildings, seldom over a story high, and quite Moorish- 
looking. All were of the same washed-out tints of pink, 
yellow and blue. The upper windows, I noticed, were 
rarely glazed, but simply provided with wooden shutters ; 
while the lower windows were crossed with thick, prison- 
like bars of iron, not only as a protection against thieves, 
but to guard the Juliets of the household from their swarthy 
Romeos. This, of course, applies to the habitations of 
the well-to-do. The poor in Mexican towns invariably 
live in mere hovels of unbaked brick of only one story, 
looking like rows of stables. They have no windows, and 
light is admitted through the doorway only. When a 
norther is blowing, the door is kept tightly closed, and the 
shivering inmates endeavor, by excluding the fresh air, 
to keep life in their thin-blooded bodies. I noticed that 
very few of the shops of Orizaba had glazed windows, but 
were mostly open to the street somewhat after the fashion 
of English butchers' shops ; some were lighted with flaming 
oil lamps, and others with gas. All the streets were well 
lit with electric light. It was Saturday night, and despite 
the rain, the streets were crowded with dark-skinned natives 
in their picturesque attire. 

The dress of the poorer classes, the Indians, called peons, 



FBOM OBIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 21 

is much the same throughout Mexico. Men wear a loose 
suit of white Unen, coat and trousers, sometimes no coat, 
the shade of whiteness varying in accordance with the clean- 
hness of the owner. Sometimes the clothing is white 
(soon after washday ) /sometimes it is a cream hue, but usu- 
ally it is a dark gray ! The trousers are often rolled up to 
the knee, and the native goes about with bare legs and feet. 
Sometimes the trousers reach to the ankles, and he is pro- 
vided with sandals strapped over his bare feet. Stockings 
are never worn. On his head the peon wears a huge steeple- 
crowned straw sombrero, with the brim anything up to two 
feet wide. This is sometimes used as a basket. I often 
saw Indians in the market buying fish or vegetables and 
carrying them off in the brims of their hats. 

In addition to his linen suit and straw sombrero, the peon 
has a woollen blanket or sarape (pronounced sah-rah-pay) . 
This is usually of bright red, with black stripes at each end. 
Sometimes it has a slit in the middle through which he 
thrusts his head, the blanket falling over the body like a 
shawl. During the heat of the day the sarape is folded and 
carried over the left shoulder. It serves the double purpose 
of a garment by day and a blanket by night, for the peon 
sleeps und,er it. 

Mexicans of a higher class, when they can afford it, will 
often buy a felt sombrero — the felt about a quarter of an 
inch thick — decorated with gold and silver tinsel embroid- 
ery. In country places the wealth of a man is usually 
shown by the style of his hat. Some of the finer embroid- 
ered sombreros cost over a hundred dollars. For riding, 
extremely tight skin-fitting trousers, edged with small 
metal buttons, are commonly worn, accompanied, in some 
cases, with a heavily braided, short bolero coat ornamented 
with bright buttons. This, with the gorgeous sombrero, 
makes a very picturesque costume. In the towns and 



22 MEXICO 

cities, however, the middle and upper classes dress like 
Europeans. 

The Indian women are usually dressed in some cheap 
kind of calico, the favorite material being a plain blue dotted 
with white, or white dotted with blue, and all of them wear 
a shawl or mantilla called the rehosa. This is generally of 
some thin woollen or cotton stuff, and is always of a faded 
blue tint. It is usually draped tightly over the head, 
leaving only the face exposed. Thus attired, they have 
a strong resemblance to the women of the East, and this is 
especially noticeable when you meet one of them coming 
from a village well, bearing a pitcher gracefully poised on 
her head. As a rule, the women have an unkempt, be- 
draggled appearance, and their coarse black hair is worn in 
two untidy plaits. 

The children of the poor have a very queer appearance, 
looking exactly like little men and women. Boys dress 
just like their fathers, having the same linen suits, big 
straw sombreros and red sarapes ; girls wear the same long 
dresses and blue rebosas as their mothers. 

At first sight, the Mexican Indians seemed to me to be 
a very melancholy race, and this first impression was con- 
firmed by what I afterwards saw of them. As we drove 
through the streets of Orizaba, filled with the passing throngs 
of natives, moving silently, barefooted or shod with noise- 
less sandals, there was rarely the sound of laughter; nor 
was there any roughness or horseplay such as one would 
have noticed in an American street filled with Saturday- 
night shoppers. Strings of children glided along silently 
after their parents, wonderfully subdued and grave, rarely 
exchanging a word. 

The shops were, of course, decorated with Spanish sign- 
boards, the fondas (grocers) and dulcerias (confectioners) 
being the most noticeable. Here and there, however, there 



FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 23 

were indications of an American invasion, for over some 
of the buildings were big sign-boards advertising '' Dr. Dash, 
American Physician/' or ^^ Dr. Blank, American Dentist." 
In most Mexican cities nowadays there are several American 
doctors and dentists . Some of the shops, apparently Amer- 
ican, had English as well as Spanish signs, and proclaimed 
themselves '^The United States Grocery Co.," with ''Goods 
at cut prices," or the ''American-Mexican Canning Co." 

In less than ten minutes my coche took me to the Hotel 
de France, which I found to be an excellent establishment ; 
in fact, it has the reputation of being one of the best hotels 
in Mexico. It is conducted by an enterprising Frenchman. 

Arranged on much the same plan as many Spanish hotels, 
this Mexican hotel was a large, square, stone building 
having a central courtyard or patio, paved with tiles, open 
to the sky, and centred by a fountain surrounded with 
palms and flpwers. From here flights of stone steps led 
to the upper stories, outside each of which there was a wide 
tiled gallery extending completely round the patio. The 
rooms were entered from these galleries, and some which had 
no outside windows were lighted by tinted glass panels in 
the doors. The bedrooms had tiled floors, each was sup- 
plied with one or two rugs, and the bedsteads were of iron, 
a very good plan in a country where fleas and other insect 
pests are too common. Most of the Mexican hotels are 
arranged and furnished in this way. The rooms are in- 
variably neat and well-kept, and the bedding, strange to 
say, in a land where cleanliness is not always regarded 
as a virtue, is usually clean and fresh. 

My Orizaba hotel had another feature which is common to 
hotels throughout Mexico. Just inside the entrance there 
was a small office where guests signed the register and ar- 
ranged for their rooms. Outside the office there was a 
large blackboard with the numbers of the rooms arranged 



24 MEXICO 

in rows. As soon as a room was assigned to a new arrival, 
his name was written with chalk on this blackboard oppo- 
site to the number of his room. Any one could thus see 
at a glance who was stopping at the hotel. 

Chambermaids, I discovered, are seldom employed in 
Mexican hotels, their places being taken by men-of-all- 
work, sometimes young, sometimes elderly, called mozos 
(boys). There is a mozo on each floor who acts as boot- 
black, porter, messenger and chambermaid ; he takes away 
one's linen to some remote laundry and brings it back the 
next day, clean and snowy white. In the larger towns 
the mozo often speaks a little English and acts as interpre- 
ter for guests who do not understand Spanish. In the 
American hotels in Mexico he is less in evidence, as these 
establishments usually employ chambermaids. 

The Mexican hotels are comfortable enough for the 
average traveller, and if they had only been jnade sound- 
proof they would be still nearer perfection. I thought so, 
at least, when I was awakened about six o'clock the next 
morning by a terrible clanging of church bells. This was 
my first experience of what I afterwards found to be the 
greatest public nuisance in Mexico. The Mexican churches 
do not possess sweet chimes, but generally have from one 
to half a dozen large, harsh-toned bells . Commencing early 
in the morning, and continuing at frequent intervals during 
the day, a muscular peon clutching a rope attached to the 
bell-clapper clangs away with all his strength, making an 
awful din. Sometimes he wields a sort of sledge-hammer, 
beating the bell from the outside with all the vigor of a 
village blacksmith. When all the church bells in a town 
are kept clanging in this way, the din is deafening. 

Unable to enjoy any more sleep on account of these ec- 
clesiastical instruments of torture, I went down to an early 
breakfast and afterwards took a stroll through the town. 



FBOM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 25 

Although the rain had stopped^the sky was still overcast, 
and the mountains were wreathed with white clouds. 
Along the streets poured a steady stream of Indian men 
and women returning from early mass, tramping patiently 
through the mud, the majority of them being barefooted. 
The men had their red blankets drawn tightly round them, 
looking half frozen, although the air was as mild as an early 
summer morning. Only the poorer classes attend early 
mass. Later on I saw numbers of white women and a few 
men walking and driving to the eleven o'clock service. 
I also noticed several men whom I instinctively recognized 
as priests despite their dress, which is not what one is ac- 
customed to see in other Catholic countries. The laws 
having forbidden them to appear in public in their clerical 
dress, the Mexican priests have adopted the plan of wearing 
a peculiar black cloak which, while not exactly ecclesiastical, 
is not worn by men of any other class. With this they wear 
an ordinary derby or silk hat. The cloak enables them to 
be distinguished a long way off. Some zealous opponents 
of the church want to have this cloak declared illegal and 
various other anti-church laws enforced. 

There are some fine old churches in Orizaba dating from 
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ; the oldest, called 
Santa Teresa, was built in 1564. The cathedral, which 
stands in the main plaza, was built in 1720, and is a large, 
imposing edifice. 

A stroll through Orizaba gives one a very good idea of 
the arrangement of Mexican towns which, following the 
Spanish system, were all originally built round a public 
square or plaza. As the towns have increased in size, 
similar plazas, which are sometimes called alamedas, have 
been provided, until each quarter eventually has one of 
these little parks. Orizaba has several of them. On one 
side of the plaza in the average Mexican small town there 



26 MEXICO 

is generally the principal church and the municipal building 
or city hall. The lower story of the latter is usually formed 
of arcades called portales, which are the centre of business, 
and there the citizens rest and take their liquid refreshment. 
The plaza serves as the general breathing place, and in the 
smaller towns the market is held in it. On Sundays and 
feast-days a band usually plays there ; in the larger towns 
a military band, and in the smaller a municipal or police 
band. The military bands, as a rule, are excellent, for the 
Indians have a natural ear for music. It is very interesting 
to see these swarthy musicians rendering classical com- 
positions, such as selections from '^Tannhauser" and 
^^ Lohengrin," for there seems to be so little in common 
between German legend and song and the descendants of 
the Aztecs. 

Orizaba is a large, straggling place, but clean and well 
kept, with a population of thirty-five thousand. It lies 
in a beautiful valley, and towering above the wooded, ever 
green mountains which look down upon it rises the great 
snow-capped peak of Mount Orizaba, over eighteen thou- 
sand feet above the level of the sea. The surrounding 
country is wonderfully fertile, and there are numerous 
sugar and coffee plantations. Through the middle of the 
town there flows a rushing, foaming stream, spanned by 
ancient arched bridges of massive stone; and along its 
banks the Indian women may be seen during the day vig- 
orously washing the clothes which seem to attract dirt so 
quickly and are so seldom clean. 

Although situated in the temperate zone, the town is 
just on the border of the tropics ; it has the moisture of the 
lowlands, with the cool breezes of the uplands, and is there- 
fore one of the finest winter resorts in Mexico, the climate 
being always mild. It is very healthy, and has none of the 
annoying insects or tropical fevers of the hot region. With 



FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 27 

its soft-tinted, one-storied buildings, with their red-tiled 
roofs, and its background of green mountains, the old town 
is wonderfully picturesque. The natives take life easily, 
in spite of which the place has a cheerful air of prosperity. 
Like the Spaniards, they seem to possess that happy faculty 
of postponing disagreeable things until manana — the mor- 
row. A restful, dreamy atmosphere hangs over the ancient 
city, and this I afterwards felt in some other Mexican towns. 

As it was Sunday morning when I took my walk, the 
streets were, of course, unusually quiet. At intervals a 
small street-car, drawn by two mules, passed leisurely along 
the main street — a remarkably wide thoroughfare — 
from the railway station to the other end of the town. 
Nobody seemed to hurry, and that good old maxim, '^To 
save time is to lengthen life,'^ was apparently unknown to 
the placid Orizabans. I was informed, however, that a 
great change was in prospect ; for in the course of a few 
months the town was to appear in all the glory of asphalt 
paving, and the slow-moving mule-car was to be replaced 
by swift American electric traction. Perhaps this entrance 
of American progress may prove to be the serpent in the 
Orizaban Paradise, and will some day replace the ease and 
quietness of the old town with all the excitement of 
American hustle. 

Founded by the Spaniards and inhabited by their de- 
scendants, Orizaba naturally retains many features of the 
life of old Spain, and the same thing can be said of all the 
old towns and cities of Mexico. As I strolled along its 
narrow, cobble-paved streets that Sunday morning, I could 
easily have imagined myself in Toledo or Granada ; and the 
impression was heightened by the appearance of the Span- 
ish-looking, Spanish-speaking people who passed on their 
way to church. Many of the women wore the black man- 
tilla gracefully draped round their heads; the men, for 



28 MEXICO 

the most part, wore clothes of semi- American cut, with soft 
felt or derby hats, though one occasionally appeared in the 
national sombrero. 

In one of the back streets I witnessed a scene which 
was even more typically Spanish, when I came to a queer 
old drinking place filled with peons enjoying their Sunday- 
morning dram. Attracted by the sound of music, I glanced 
through the wide open doorway into the vault-like interior, 
with its grimy, time-stained walls, where numerous barrels 
stood on the rough stone flagging. A brigandish-looking 
half-breed, with a bright red handkerchief tied about his 
head, was strumming a guitar and singing what seemed 
to be a wild gypsy song. His audience of peons were 
standing about the place or squatting on the barrels. 

A few minutes later, when the song had ended, a half- 
breed of rather intelligent appearance walked in, carrying 
a newspaper in his hand. On the back of his head was a new 
felt sombrero, and he wore a decent suit of clothes, which 
made him look quite a superior order of being to the scantily 
dressed Indians in the drinking den. Lifting his hat in 
salute, the newcomer said, ^'Senores, with your permis- 
sion, I will entertain you with the news." The suggestion 
was evidently received with favor, for several of the peons 
responded with ^^Bueno, bueno" (Good, good). With this 
encouragement, the man with the newspaper leaped on 
to one of the barrels and commenced reading a news 
item. 

Owing to widespread illiteracy among the poorer classes, 
public newspaper readers of this sort have become a fea- 
ture of Mexican life. Very few men of the peon class are 
able to read or write, though compulsory education has 
been introduced in recent times. Thus it is that the news- 
paper reader is enabled to earn a living by making the 
rounds of the drinking places and reciting the news of the 



FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 29 

day. A certain amount of literary skill is required to follow 
this strange calling successfully; the reader is, in fact, a 
sort of peripatetic news editor, for he selects only two or 
three items which he knows will please his audience. The 
Orizaban reader, for instance, started with the most im- 
portant topic of the day. He commenced upon an article 
which discussed the financial panic then in progress in the 
United States, and the hard times it had caused in Mexico 
through the closing of mines and other enterprises controlled 
by Americans . Things were improving, said the newspaper, 
and thousands of Mexicans who had lost employment would 
soon be going back to work and earning plenty of money 
to buy food and drink. 

Some of the peons in the audience apparently belonged 
to the great army of unemployed, for they shook their 
heads and shrugged their shoulders at the mention of 
^' work.'' They brightened up, however, at the magic word 
^^ drink," and applauded by rapping their glasses on the 
barrel-tops and giving vent to a chorus of '^Buenos." 

The reader next selected what journalists would call a 
"human -interest story." In tragic tones, with appro- 
priate gestures, he entertained his audience with a despatch 
from northern Mexico which related how a drink-crazed 
peasant had set fire to the hut of a neighbor with whom 
he had a feud, shooting down his enemy as he attempted 
to escape, and despatching him with a knife. Pursued by 
the rurales, the murderer had fallen riddled with bullets 
after opening fire on his pursuers. This ^Hop of the col- 
umn" story seemed to excite intense interest, and at its 
conclusion there was another outburst of "Bravo," 
" Muy bien," and such comments as "Buen hombre" 
(Good man) , ' ' Hombre valiente ' ' (Brave fellow) . Leaping 
down from his perch, the itinerant editor went round, 
sombrero in hand; making a collection; then bowing 



30 MEXICO 

politely, with a ''Buenas dias, seiiores/' he sauntered off 
to the next drinking place. 

I had a delightful walk through Orizaba's principal resi- 
dential quarter^ where old Spanish-looking mansions of 
crumbling stone were set in the midst of large gardens, 
beautifully shaded with palms, orange trees and other 
tropical growths. In the Alameda, lined with venerable 
trees and adorned with statuary and fountains, I found a 
wealth of flowers — oleanders and lilies and geraniums 
of all shades, in full bloom. Here, too, there were swarms 
of blackbirds, hopping about the shady walks and perching 
in the trees, piping merrily. There were myriads of these 
birds all over the town, and they seemed to be as prolific as 
sparrows in our cities. 

Lounging about the street corners or squatting along the 
curb, smoking and gossiping in their quiet way, were nu- 
merous Indian men and women, many of whom had evi- 
dently come in from the country. Though they all seemed 
wretchedly poor, their faces bore a look of patient content- 
ment, and occasionally one would actually smile at some 
choice bit of repartee. Near an old bridge, in the main 
street, spanning the mountain stream, there sat an old 
Indian dame, in a much-worn rebosa, placidly puffing a 
cigarette. Before her was spread a poor little stock con- 
sisting of half a dozen bananas, two or three oranges and a 
few sweets. As I stood there, a small mongrel dog came up 
and sniffed at her wares. Seizing a stick, the old woman 
dealt the animal a vicious blow and he ran off yelping down 
the street. 

An ill-tempered, cruel race, these Indians, I thought; 
but a moment later I gained a different impression, when 
there came along a small barefooted, grave-looking Indian 
urchin, scantily dressed in ragged cotton clothing, with a 
piece of old bagging about his shoulders. He halted near 



FBOM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 31 

the little pile of fruits and sweets and gazed wistfully at 
them. Catching sight of him, the old woman's face under- 
went a remarkable change, and actually took on an expres- 
sion of benevolence. Picking up a bright red stick of candy 
from her little stock, she held it towards the child. '^ Here, 
nino," she said, ^'this is yours.'' As he took it with a 
polite ^'Gracias, sefiora," the old dame gave him a kindly 
pat on his closely cropped head and sent him off overflow- 
ing with happiness. This I afterwards discovered to be 
typical of the Indians of Mexico, — full of the most amaz- 
ing contrasts of cruelty and kindness, at once hateful and 
admirable. 

The public market is one of the most interesting sights of 
Orizaba, with its array of tropical fruits and flowers, and 
their vendors in the bright costumes of a tropical clime. 
It has probably not materially altered since the days of the 
Aztecs. In a description of ancient Mexico, Bernal Diaz, 
one of the followers of Cortes, expresses surprise at the large 
crowds of people which were seen in the Aztec towns, the 
order which prevailed and the variety of merchandise 
displayed. In his account, he says: ^'The meat market 
was stocked with fowls, game and dogs. Vegetables, 
fruits, articles of food ready-dressed, salt, bread, honey 
and sweet pastry, made in various ways, were also sold here. 
Other places in the market were appointed to the sale of 
earthenware, wooden household furniture, such as tables 
and benches, firewood, pipes, tobacco, copper axes, and 
working tools and wooden vessels highly painted. The 
entire square was enclosed in piazzas under which great 
quantities of grain were stored, and there were also shops 
for various kinds of goods." The markets in Mexican 
towns are to-day practically the same. Low piazzas of 
solid stone enclose the market square and these are occupied 
by small shops ; the central part, open to the sky, is filled 



32 MEXICO 

with the stalls of the Indian vendors, men and women, 
who squat on the ground on a rush mat with another sus- 
pended above them for protection against the sun, their 
little stock spread before them. 

During the morning hours in the Orizaba market the 
crowd of natives was so dense that it was almost impossible 
to push a way through them. Among the fruits on sale I 
noticed mangos, zapotes, granaditas, sapodillas, bananas, 
cocoanuts and other tropical fruits. Most of these look 
much more tempting or interesting than they really taste. 
The Mexican mango does not compare with the East Indian 
variety, being smaller and having much more of the peculiar 
turpentine flavor. The zapote is a small green melon which 
grows in clusters on trees and contains great quantities of 
pips resembling black currants ; the sapodilla, which looks 
something like a small round potato, is filled with a dark 
yellowish pulp of insipid sweetness; the granadita is the 
fruit of the passion-flower, and contains a slippery, whitish 
pulp filled with small black seeds. 

Everywhere in the market there was a great variety of 
beans, black, brown and yellow, — beans fried in fat, called 
frijoles, being the staple food of the poorer classes. There- 
were also great heaps of golden maize, for corn and not 
wheat is the Mexican ''staff of life." This is cooked in 
various ways, but more especially in the form of unleavened 
cakes known as tortillas, which are a distinctive feature of 
humble Mexican life, and are even popular among the 
wealthier classes. 

Considerable labor is necessary to evolve the tortilla, 
and many women devote their days and a large portion of 
their nights to its manufacture. The kernels of corn are 
first soaked in lime-water until they become soft; they 
are then placed on a flat kneading-stone called a metate, 
and ground with a rude pestle until they are reduced to 






FBOM OBIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 33 

fine paste. This is shaped into small round cakes, which 
are worked between the hands and patted until flattened 
out very thin. They are then baked on an iron pan over 
a charcoal fire. Having neither salt nor seasoning, they 
are rather insipid to the unaccustomed palate, although 
when served hot they are not unpalatable. In many 
households a special cook is employed to make tortillas 
and serve them piping hot at mealtimes. When cold, 
they are rather leathery, but they are said to be very nu- 
tritious, and are often carried by Mexicans when making 
long journeys in unsettled parts of the country. 

The meat in the market did not look inviting, some that 
was dried being as black as ink, and seeming quite unfit 
for human food. The Spanish word for meat, came (pro- 
nounced Camay), is not pleasant to the ear, and when you 
see some of this evil-looking Mexican meat, it somehow 
reminds you of the English word " carrion/' The meat, 
too, is very carelessly handled. A butcher's boy can often 
be seen in a Mexican town carrying a string of tough 
beef-steaks and using it as a whip on any stray dog that he 
happens to meet. 

In addition to the eatables, there were all kinds of native 
baskets on sale, kitchen utensils, toys, bright red pottery, 
goat's milk, trinkets and clothing. A peon's cotton suit, 
by the way, costs about a dollar, his sandals ten cents and 
his blanket about a dollar and a half, so that he is fully 
clothed for less than three dollars. 

A most interesting part of the market is the pottery 
department. The shapes of the various vessels have been 
handed down from Aztec times, and are probably much the 
same as those seen by Cortes. Many of the pieces are fan- 
tastic in shape and ornamentation ; some of them have a 
graceful appearance, resembling old Grecian or Roman 
pottery. When it is considered that the native potter has 



34 MEXICO 

no other tools than his wheel, a piece of broken glass and a 
horsehair, the results are certainly marvellous. With the 
hair he trims off the top, while the glass is used for smooth- 
ing the rough places. Some of the water-bottles and other 
pieces are ornamented with pieces of china, fragments of 
broken cups, plates, etc., arranged in tasteful patterns while 
the clay is soft. Each part of Mexico has its distinctive 
pottery, that of Cuernavaca being distinguished from that 
of Guadalupe, Aguas Calientes or Guadalajara by its color 
and design. 

In a quiet corner of the market was the evangelista or 
public letter-writer, seated at his little table with a pot of 
ink and a pen, ready to dash off a matter-of-fact business 
note or an ardent love-letter for natives unable to write. 
In another place were the cobblers prepared to cut and fit 
leather sandals in a few minutes. Pushing through the 
crowd went the picturesque aguadores or water-carriers, 
with their huge earthen water-coolers strapped to their 
backs, from which many a refreshing draught was supplied. 
In towns where there is no public supply of water, the 
aguadore takes water daily from house to house. 

Queer sweets and pastry, called dulces, are sold in the 
markets. The Mexicans imitate the French in their con- 
fectionery, but it is a very poor imitation, their sweets being 
over-flavored and insipid and their pastry heavy and in- 
digestible. 

At various street-corners during my walk, I noticed the 
policemen of Orizaba, swarthy Indians, most of them, 
dressed not unhke the policemen of country towns in 
France; but instead of a sword they have a revolver 
strapped to the waist by a belt filled with a row of car- 
tridges. They looked stalwart, efficient fellows, and perform 
their duty well in keeping order. 

Later in the morning, in company with several fellow- 



FBOM OBIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 35 

travellers who had come from Vera Cruz and had stopped 
at the Hotel de France, I got on the little street-car and rode 
to the railway station to continue my journey to Mexico 
City. The waiting-room and the platform of the station 
were packed with Indian men, women and children, some 
of whom had come to take the train, and others to see their 
friends depart. When the train came in at eleven o'clock, 
we found there was only one first-class car, and that was 
pretty well filled with passengers, so that we had hard work 
to find places for ourselves and our portable baggage. 

Most of our fellow-passengers were Mexicans of the middle 
class, chiefly men ; and nearly all of them smoked in the 
car, as there was no compartment for smokers. Mexicans 
are rarely pleasant travelling companions, as they generally 
carry a lot of bags, boxes and bundles, which they pile 
in the seats, and they chatter incessantly. The women, 
strange to say, are much less talkative than the men. 
On our train the second-class cars were filled with Mexicans 
of the lower middle class ; the third-class cars were literally 
packed with Indians, mostly men. 

Railway travel in Mexico is very cheap, the third-class 
fare being less than one cent a mile. The Indians, I 
afterwards discovered, have a perfect mania for travelling, 
and when they are not spending their spare cash in gambling 
or on fiery native drinks, they buy a railway ticket. It 
apparently matters very little where they go, and they 
seem to wander off without any definite object in view. 
The Mexican third-class car is arranged on the American 
system, has hard wooden benches, and is not inviting ; yet 
it is always packed with Indians, who exchange cigarettes, 
drink each other's health in pulque and mescal, which they 
carry, and gossip incessantly. In fact, for the peon, the 
third-class car is a sort of travelling workingmen's club. 
He has genial company, and sees the country as he travels. 



36 MEXICO 

When the train stops at a station, he gets out and gossips 
with brother Indians on the platform. 

But a pleasure-trip of this kind sweeps away the poor 
peon's earnings just as the craving for drink does. While 
we were travelling from Orizaba to Mexico City, I witnessed 
a pathetic scene at a small railway station which strikingly 
illustrated this fact. An Indian was on the platform with 
his wife and several children, and some friends were urging 
him to take a ride, just as I have seen the companions of a 
British workman urging a comrade, fighting against temp- 
tation, to enter a public house and have ''just one more 
drink." ''Don't go, Juan," urged the tearful wife; "we 
owe for rent, and the grocer hasn't been paid." The 
children, bellowing loudly, hung on to their father's blanket. 
"Aw, come along, Juan, old fellow; don't be henpecked/' 
said his swarthy companions in equivalent Spanish, pulling 
him towards the car. "A few miles won't hurt you or the 
missus." The engine gave a whistle, the train began to 
move, the peons jumped on, and poor, weak Juan, unable 
to resist temptation, sprang in after them. As the train 
moved off, the poor wife, realizing that the week's wages I 
would be spent in travel, ran after the car, wringing her 
hands and gesticulating wildly to her husband, who looked 
stolidly at her from the window. Railway travel in most 
countries is either a luxury or a necessity, but Mexico is 
the only land in which it amounts to a positive vice. 

From Orizaba the railway runs through fertile fields 
and wooded hills until it reaches the mountains and enters 
a deep ravine called the Canon del Infernillo or Little Hell, 
a wild spot, filled with numerous cascades and streams of 
rushing, roaring waters. The train here makes a wonderful 
ascent, twisting and climbing over twenty-four hundred feet 
in nine miles . When the train is coming from the other direc- 
tion, Indians offer fruit and flowers for sale at the summit ; 



FBOM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 37 

then, while the train is travelHng the nine miles, they scam- 
per down the twenty-four hundred feet by a short mountain 
footpath and meet it again. Climbing steadily upwards, 
the train crosses numerous iron bridges, spanning deep 
chasms, passing through many tunnels, sweeping round 
dizzy, beetling points, the line crossing and recrossing itself, 
twisting up serpent-like to the mountain heights. Far 
above, as the train climbs upwards, you see one or two 
white specks which are stations. Looking backwards, you 
can see the wonderful twistings of the line. The scenery 
is often inexpressibly grand, the pink-tinged, treeless moun- 
tains rising on all sides from the foliage of the foot-hills. 

At Alta Luz, where the engine takes water, the traveller 
looks down on the village of Maltrata, thousands of feet 
below in the valley, which is spread out like a toy city on a 
green carpet, with its white church, its central plaza, its 
tiled and thatched houses, its little line of streets, and its 
surrounding green fields and orchards ; and high above the 
valley, and far above where the train is standing, tower the 
mountains, culminating in the snow-tipped peak of Orizaba, 
which seems to pierce the skies. From this point there is a 
steady and continued climb upwards, until Esperanza is 
reached at an altitude of 8044 feet. As the train travelled 
upward to this place, the air grew quite sharp, and the rare- 
fied atmosphere caused a noticeable quickening of the action 
of the lungs. 

While travelling slowly up the mountains, we witnessed 
a novel and pathetic sight. Two natives, carrying a bright 
blue coffin, trotted down a mountain path, followed by a 
peon and three weeping children, keeping closely together 
at the same jog-trot. They were evidently bound for the 
municipal cemetery outside a little village far below. The 
Mexican country cemetery is very different from the peace- 
ful God's acres in our own country districts, and is simply 



38 MEXICO 

a plot of waste land surrounded with a wall of whitewashed 
brick. A few of the graves are marked with rude wooden 
crosses; the others are unmarked. The place is usually 
overgrown with coarse grass and cactus. 

At Esperanza, which we reached at half -past one, there 
was a halt of thirty minutes for luncheon. None of the 
Mexican railway trains have dining-cars attached, and stops 
for meals are made at certain stations, the customary 
price being fifty cents. Passengers of all classes have 
equal privileges in the dining-room, and unless you are care- 
ful, you are apt to find yourself seated with a motley com- 
pany of unwashed natives whose manners constantly re- 
mind you that fingers were invented before forks. The 
white passengers on the train — that is, the foreigners and 
best class of Mexicans — usually gather at one table, and 
it is advisable to wait a few minutes until the company is 
seated, so as to make sure of getting a place at the right 
table. Though meals are rather crudely served, the food 
is generally well cooked and palatable. 

At Esperanza, mountain climbers can travel by road to 
the village of Chalchicamula, whence a trail through the 
woods leads to the foot of Mount Orizaba. This giant peak 
of over eighteen thousand feet is, next to Mount McKinley 
in Alaska, the highest peak in North America. For an 
experienced mountain climber the ascent is difficult but 
not dangerous. In making the ascent, one passes through 
all varieties of climates, from the sub-tropical region of the 
valley to the pine woods of the north, and then on to the 
cold, icy, snow-capped Arctic regions. The scenes to be 
witnessed on every side are magnificent. 

Travelling from Esperanza down to Vera Cruz, the descent 
in many places is so steep that steam-power is not used. 
The train runs down the mountains by its own weight, 
brake-power only being necessary to regulate the pace. 



FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 39 

After leaving Esperanza, the line reaches the flat table- 
landS; bordered with mountains in the distance, dry and 
dusty in the winter time. The country is dreary and mo- 
notonous, with scarcely a tree to be seen. Here and there 
I noticed a big white hacienda building or ranch-house set 
in the midst of the plain, where large herds of cattle were 
browsing on withered grass, the only signs of cultivation 
being occasional fields where the dry, yellow Indian-corn 
stalks left from the last harvest were still standing. This 
dry, dusty appearance of the country was, I found, char- 
acteristic of the highlands of Mexico in the winter months. 
There is then little or no rain, everything gets dry and 
parched, and only where there is an irrigated patch is there 
any green vegetation. Sometimes the train passed over 
a dry watercourse, for in the higher lands most of the 
streams and rivers dry up during the rainless season. 
When the rains set in, they soon begin flowing again, and 
frequently get into a flooded condition. Mexico is very 
poorly supplied with rivers, excepting along the Gulf coast, 
where they are very numerous and quite large at the mouth, 
but not navigable for any distance. 

The monotonous country through which we travelled 
during the afternoon was rendered still more depressing by 
the weather, the sky which in Mexico is usually a clear, deep 
blue being still dark and cloudy. Blowing from the coast, 
the ''norther" was making itself felt in the high table-land. 
There were, however, occasionally a few interesting scenes 
to relieve the tedium of our journey. At one village there 
was an encampment of soldiers, infantry and cavalry, and 
a long line of tents. Everything seemed to be conducted in 
good military order. At nearly every station where a stop 
was made the train was besieged by a throng of wild-looking 
Indian women and children selling boiled eggs, fried chicken, 
fiery Mexican dishes, such as tamales, and native cakes and 



40 MEXICO 

drinks. These were eagerly bought by the Mexican pas- 
sengers, who seemed to be continually eating. Mexican 
railway stations, especially in the small towns, are always 
crowded, as the arrival and departure of a passenger train 
— sometimes there is only one daily — is quite an important 
event. Poor people with nothing else to do and loafers of 
every description gather to see the train, smoking and chat- 
ting together, staring at the passengers and discussing them 
with much apparent enjoyment. Beggars of all kinds, the 
lame, the diseased and the blind, are always on hand, 
clamoring for centavos, and singing lustily to the accom- 
paniment of their queer old harps, fiddles and mandolins. 

We passed very few villages, and these mostly consisted 
of square, flat-roofed huts of adobe or sun-dried brick. 
Adobe is an important feature of life in Mexico and is the 
salvation of the poor Mexican. Wood being very expensive, 
and stone or manufactured brick out of the question for 
him, he has to fall back on mother earth for shelter. The 
soil in many places is a sort of clay which, after being mixed 
with water and straw, — usually the refuse from stables, — 
is put in square wooden moulds and baked in the sun. 
This sun-dried brick is called adobe, and it is wonderful how 
long it will stand the stress of sun and rain in a country 
where there are no severe frosts. Not only does the poor 
man make use of this cheap building material, but many 
a pretentious wall that is covered with a respectable coating 
of stucco and finished in imitation of stone, when it even- 
tually falls into decay, shows that within it has relied for 
strength and support upon adobe. 

Later in the day our train steamed across the plains of 
Apam, relieved only by monotonous rows of maguey plants, 
from which the national drink, pulque (pronounced pool- 
kay), is made. Apam is, in fact, the miost important dis- 
trict in Mexico for the cultivation of this plant — a species 



FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 41 

of agave which looks a good deal like the *' aloe" used for 
ornamental purposes in American gardens and sometimes 
called the '^century plant/' from the fiction that it blooms 
only once in a hundred years. The Mexican plant, how- 
ever, is much larger, its dark green spiked leaves sometimes 
reaching a length of fifteen feet, a foot in breadth and sev- 
eral inches in thickness. From six to ten years are required 
for the plant to mature in its native soil. It then sends up 
a tall, stiff spike, which is covered with clusters of small, 
bell-shaped blossoms as white as bleached cabbage, and 
then dies. In maguey plantations, however, when the 
flowering time arrives, the plant is marked with a cross, 
the stalks being then full of the sap for which it is culti- 
vated. To obtain this, the entire heart is removed, leaving 
a natural basin in which the sap collects. In this condition 
the liquor is sweet and perfectly clear, and is called agua 
miel or honey-water. The sap, which gathers quickly, 
is removed two or three times a day by an Indian, usually 
provided with a long, hollow gourd with a hole at each end. 
He places the small end of the gourd in the sap, and applying 
his mouth to the opening at the other end, sucks the liquid 
into the gourd. This primitive method, however, is being 
supplanted by a long siphon, which enables the sap to be 
removed more quickly and cleanly. 

After its removal, the sap is emptied into a pigskin which 
the gatherer carries on his back. Each plant yields on an 
average about six quarts of sap daily for a month or more. 
It then withers and dies and another is planted in its place. 
The sap collected each day is put in barrels and fermented, 
when it is ready for the market. Pulque, after fermenta- 
tion, tastes a good deal like stale buttermilk diluted with 
stagnant water — a thin, starchy, evil-smelHng Hquor. 
After further fermentation, it acquires a putrid taste. The 
natives like it best immediately after fermentation, as it 



42 MEXICO 

is supposed to spoil — if it can spoil — within twenty- 
four hours afterwards, and there is a law prohibiting its 
sale after that time. Thus it must be drunk at once, which 
may account for the energy with which the Indians imbibe 
it. Very few of the better classes drink pulque; it is the 
beverage of the poor. 

A taste for pulque has to be acquired by strangers. The 
first experience is always repellent, but familiarity is said 
to breed contempt for its nauseous qualities. Great 
virtues are claimed for the drink, especially in the cure of 
kidney diseases. Some Mexican doctors prescribe it for 
these ailments, but several physicians who have investi- 
gated its alleged curative powers assert that it is of no 
value whatever. 

Pulque was first known in Mexico, so it is said, in 1050 
A.D., when a beautiful Indian maiden with the unbeautiful 
name of Xochitl brought to the Toltec emperor, Teopan- 
caltzin, a large pot of sweet Hquid which she had drawn 
from the maguey plants in her garden. The emperor 
was so pleased with the drink that he married the girl, and 
in course of time a son was born who was christened Me- 
conetzin, meaning ^^The son of the maguey plant." Queen 
Xochitl did not make pulque, but merely extracted the 
sweet, sticky juice of the plant, the agua miel. In the 
northern parts of Mexico the natives drink this, and it has 
no bad effects. 

For a hundred miles and more round Mexico City there 
are pulque estates where the maguey plant is cultivated, 
and on some of these over a thousand peons are employed 
attending to the plants and gathering the sap. Special 
pulque trains loaded with this vile beverage run into the 
capital every day from the country districts. It is sold 
at pulque shops, the lowest class of Mexican saloons, 
patronized only by Indian peons. A cheap drink, it costs 




MEXICO'S NATIONAL DRINK. 
Gathering the maguey sap for making pulque. 




AN AGU ADORE. 
The Mexican water-seller. (See page 34.) 



FROM ORIZABA TO THE CAPITAL 43 

only two or three centavos a glass ; yet the daily expendi- 
ture for pulque in Mexico City is said to exceed twenty 
thousand dollars. 

Indulgence in this drink softens the brain, ruins the 
digestion and paralyzes the nerves; while its effects on 
the native population are so destructive that it has been 
well named 'Hhe curse of Mexico." It is principally drunk 
in Mexico City, where the Indian population is the most 
degraded in the Republic. Many employers of labor will 
not hire men from the pulque districts if they can possibly 
get them from elsewhere. Tequila and mescal, two fiery 
spirits largely consumed in Mexico, are distilled from a 
smaller species of maguey. They have some resemblance 
to cheap brandy, and are equally deadly in their effects 
' on the human system. 



CHAPTER III 

MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 

Hours of steaming through bare plains, hemmed in by 
bare mountains, cone-shaped, the true volcanic type ! 
Hours of dust and rattle, the scenery broken only by the 
huge, fiat-shaped maguey plant, interminable save where 
a few acres round a lonely village church show the yellow- 
ing stalks of last season's harvest of Indian corn ! Such 
are the plains of Apam, through which the heavily loaded 
train from Vera Cruz panted and jolted as the sun sank 
and the quick-falling darkness made the weirdly lonely 
scenery more weird, more lonely and desolate, if that were 
possible. It is ^^ starved, ignoble nature" in very truth, 
and the traveller wonders, as he stares through the gather- 
ing darkness, where Mexico City can be hidden in the plain's 
hopeless desert. 

Mexico, however, is a land of contrasts, and this the 
newcomer is not long in learning. Thus the transition 
from the barbarically wild to the civilized is remarkably 
sudden. For miles before reaching the Mexican capital 
we passed through these sandy wastes and fields of maguey ; 
past straggling Indian villages of adobe huts with garden- 
plots enclosed with cactus, tall and straight, forming nat- 
ural fence-posts, where Indian men in their red blankets 
and straw sombreros, and unkempt Indian women in their 
blue rebosas, squatted about and stolidly watched the train 
flit by. Suddenly from the desert we entered what ap- 
peared to be a suburban district where there were stone 

44 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 45 

houses of Spanish appearance, quite well built, with a few 
Americanized business buildings mixed with them, dec- 
orated with garish advertising signs in Spanish and English, 
Then electric lights began to twinkle along the highways, 
and an electric car filled with passengers glided onward 
to the city. A few minutes later our train ran through 
some rather squalid streets and then entered a railway 
station which, though really nothing but a glorified shed, 
was the terminus in Mexico City. There are no stations 
in the capital equal in size and appointments to those in 
even a third-rate American city, and most of them are crude 
in the extreme. They are arranged in much the same way 
as are the American stations, without raised platforms, 
and having only one waiting-room for passengers of all 
classes. 

No sooner had the train come to a standstill than it 
was besieged by a mob of cargadores, offering to carry our 
baggage. These men were not in uniform, but wore the 
ordinary dress of the peon — a dirty linen suit, or just 
trousers and shirt, and some had a ragged blanket wrapped 
round their shoulders. As the cargadores are not allowed 
to enter the railway carriages, the traveller passes his 
bags to them through the window. I was duly captured 
by one of these burden-bearers, and following him emerged 
to find a large crowd of cabs, very much like the Parisian 
fiacres, in the station yard. The drivers, however, were 
very different in appearance from the cochers of Paris, 
for they all wore the heavy felt, steeple-crowned sombrero. 

There are first- and second-class cabs in Mexico City, 
the former bearing a small blue flag and the latter a red 
flag. The blues charge fifty cents and the reds thirty cents 
an hour. A local guide-book suggests that tourists can 
remember the two classes by saying to themselves, ''Red 
cabs for the ordinary red-blooded people, blues for the blue 



46 MEXICO 

bloods." A year or two ago there was a third class of cabs 
which sported a yellow flag, and were popularly known as 
^'yellow fevers." This, of course, was a joke, but they 
certainly were pestilential conveyances, and the city is well 
rid of them. 

As I left the station in one of the red-flag cabs, bound 
for my hotel, a policeman at the station exit noted down 
the number and destination of the vehicle. This, I found, 
is done at all the railway stations in the City, and it is an 
excellent idea; for if anything happens to a passenger, if 
he gets lost or robbed, the police are thus able to get some 
trace of him. 

My cab drove quickly through wide asphalted streets, 
bright with electric lights, and bordered with flat-roofed 
houses in Spanish style, with their balconies and barred 
windows. Intermixed with these were a few modern- 
looking business buildings and stores, and one or two 
ancient churches with quaint towers and domes. Along 
most of the streets through which I passed electric street- 
cars were running, crowded with passengers. As in all 
Mexican cities, these cars are American-made, and carry 
passengers inside only. The brilliantly lighted streets, 
the crowded cars and the passing throngs of well-dressed 
people all gave me the feeling of being once more in a great 
metropolis; and this seemed wonderfully strange when I 
realized that less than half an hour before I had been 
travelling through Indian villages and a lonely desert. 

I had engaged quarters at the Hotel Sanz, which is under 
American management, and as comfortable as hotels are 
in the Mexican capital. There are no really fine hotels in 
the city, most of them being old convents or mansions 
partly rebuilt. 

The Sanz was the usual large, square, flat-roofed build- 
ing of three stories built round an unroofed patio, encircled 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 47 

by galleries at each story ; the office, some reception rooms 
and the restaurant were on the ground floor. In the centre 
of the patio there was the usual fountain, with its flowers 
and shrubbery. All this would have looked very attractive 
and refreshing on a sultry evening; but the '^ norther'* 
was still blowing, the sky was overcast, the air was dis- 
tinctly chilly and there had just been a heavy shower of 
rain. Everything seemed damp, dark and cold. There 
was not a stove or open fireplace in the hotel, but in this 
respect it was no worse off than the other establishments. 
None of them are heated, and when the weather is cold 
there is absolutely no way of getting warm unless you go 
to bed ; and even then you are apt to suffer, as the rarefied 
air is very penetrating. I had a comfortable room, but 
it made me shiver to look out on the cold, damp patio and 
hear the chill wind sighing round the open court. 

Mexico City certainly needs a good modern hotel, 
and at first sight such an establishment would seem to be 
sure of making large profits and well paying its promoters. 
The servant problem, however, and the extortionate 
prices which are demanded for ground in eligible districts 
have thus far prevented capitalists from embarking in 
such an enterprise. Several well-known American and 
European hotel lessees have investigated the matter, 
but none of them have been willing to engage in what they 
consider would be a losing venture. The present hotels 
are cheap and clean, but in the majority of them every- 
thing is old and dingy, and the service is very inferior. 
Twenty years ago, I was told, visitors were making the 
same complaint, but the need for a modern hotel is still 
la crying one. 

I With all their faults, the Mexican hotels have one re- 
deeming trait — they are not expensive. Those in the 
big centres usually make separate charges for rooms and 



48 MEXICO 

mealS; the price of rooms generally ranging from one 
dollar fifty to three dollars a day, while meals are served 
a la carte. Some of the hotels, however, serve a regular 
dinner, which costs, as a rule, about a dollar. In Mexico 
City, where the cost of living is higher than in small places, 
one can manage to live very comfortably at a hotel, with 
room and board, for four or five dollars a day. In the 
smaller towns the hotels charge so much a day for room 
and board together, usually from two to three dollars, the 
price varying according to the size and position of the room. 

Good servants are very difficult to get in Mexico, and 
the domestics, who are chiefly drawn from the Indian 
population, are seldom long contented with their places. 
The chambermaids in the Americanized hotels — most 
of them, swarthy Indians or half-breeds — look a good 
deal like typical gypsy maidens. They wear the usual 
native costume, a loose skirt and bodice of speckled blue 
and white and a rebosa draped over the shoulders. Their 
coarse black hair is generally worn hanging down the back 
in a long plait, their eyes are very dark, and they are much 
given to wearing large ear-rings. When not at work, they 
sit about the stairs in twos and threes, and to a stranger 
seem very picturesque. Their ideas of housework are also 
interesting to the stranger who does not have to employ 
them as domestics, although their method of dusting 
would drive an American housewife mad in a week. At 
the end of a stick they tie a cloth and very lackadaisically 
flick it around in the direction in which they think the dust 
is. The whole process suggests the indolence with which 
these folk regard all life's problems. 

The district of Mexico City in which the principal hotels 
are situated is historic ground, for some of the most stirring 
events of Mexican history have been enacted in this par- 
ticular quarter. Opposite the Hotel Sanz is the Alameda, 



II 




Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, Xew York. 

CALLE DEL RELOJ. 
One of the busiest streets in the capital. 



i 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 49 

a pretty little park about twice as large as City Hall Park, 
New York, and from this radiate some of the principal 
streets. Once a piece of waste land, the Alameda is now a 
long stretch of velvety green lawns and numerous beds of 
tropical flowers, shaded by fine old trees and graceful palms. 
In the centre is a handsome fountain, and on one side a 
quaint Moorish kiosque, in which refreshments are sold. 
One of the regimental bands plays in the Alameda every 
day. Until recently, the little park was Mexico City's 
fashionable promenade, and on Sunday mornings the smart 
people gathered there much in the same way as they do in 
Hyde Park during the London season. But the centre of 
population is moving southwestward, and the Alameda is, 
as far as I could observe, becoming chiefly the resort of the 
poorer classes. 

This spot has a tragic history, having been the place of 
execution for the victims of the Inquisition. In 1574 
twenty-one '' pestilent Lutherans" were burned there. 
Crowds used to stand on the steps of the old church of San 
Diego, which stfll faces the Alameda, to get a good view 
of the burnings and watch the ashes of the victims thrown 
into a marsh which then existed behind the church. The 
Inquisition was not abolished in Mexico until 1812. 

In the evening I took a walk through some of the prin- 
cipal streets, and was astonished to flnd them so deserted. 
The Mexican capital has a population of over four hundred 
thousand, and I had read such glowing accounts of the 
gayety of the place that I confidently expected to find it 
a sort of transatlantic Paris. I was doomed to disappoint- 
ment, however, for although it was only nine o'clock when 
I took my walk abroad, all signs of life had departed from 
the streets. Only a few stores and restaurants were open, 
and very few people were to be seen. Nor was this due 
to the fact that it was Sunday night, for the streets have 



50 MEXICO 

the same dreary appearance on other nights of the week. 
There is a reason for this, and it is undoubtedly chmatic. 

While the day temperature, even in winter, is mild and 
often hot, the nights in the capital are invariably chilly; 
in the winter months dangerously so. The whole popula- 
tion are terrified of the night air, and thus it is that after 
eight o'clock Mexico City is almost a city of the dead, except 
in some of the important business streets where such night 
amusements as exist are to be found. A few theatres and 
cinematograph shows afford amusement to those who will 
face the night air; but there is no cafe life as in France, 
and no sort of out-of-door life. Nobody seems to come to 
the restaurants, except in the case of a few popular establish- 
ments chiefly patronized by foreigners. At some of these 
good dinners are served, during which excellent music is 
played ; but there is little to attract one in going, on a cold 
night, through deserted streets to half-deserted restaurants. 
The theatres do not open until nine o'clock, and unless 
there is some very good company playing, they do not attract 
large crowds. 

As I wandered along, I noticed a lantern standing in the 
middle of the street at nearly every crossing. These lights, 
I found, belonged to policemen, for in all Mexican cities the 
policemen stand at night at the street corners, placing their 
lanterns in the middle of the road. The long row of flicker- 
ing lights, up and down, in every direction, has a curious 
effect; but to the law-abiding it is a comforting one, in- 
dicating as it does that the Argus-eye of the law is on the 
sleeping city. Unlike Diogenes, the Mexican policeman 
employs his lantern to find a possible thief, but humorists 
say that the lantern is really intended to aid the thief in 
avoiding the guardians of the law . 

In dress and appearance the police, who are chiefly 
recruited from the Indians and half-breeds, are not unlike 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 51 

the Parisian sergeants de ville. On one side of his waist 
the poHceman wears what American pohcemen call ^^a 
night stick/ ^ and on the other a revolver is strapped. 
During the day he walks his beat and takes an occasional 
rest by leaning against a door-post. At night he wears a 
long blue cloak, and if the weather is cold you will see him 
muffled up to the chin, breathing through the cloth. All 
the Mexican masses seem to dread the night and early 
morning air. Muffling themselves up in their blankets, 
the peons breathe through them with heroic disregard 
of the germs which must lurk in their dirty folds ; women 
cover their mouths with their rebosas, using them as res- 
pirators. The popular idea is that unadulterated cold air 
entering the lungs is likely to cause pneumonia. 

Windows in the city are all barred with iron bars; the 
heavy doors would require dynamite to blow them open, 
and fires are infrequent. The Mexican policeman's lot 
is therefore a happy one, for he has little to do, which is 
what the Mexican likes best. When the streets are deserted, 
he not infrequently leans against a door and goes to sleep ; 
but if you want him, his lantern enables you to find him and 
rouse him from his slumbers. The police are very numerous 
all over Mexico, because the government has found it 
advisable to keep itself well informed of affairs, in order 
to check revolutionary movements. Even in the smaflest 
villages there is a uniformed police. The metropolitan 
poHce appeared to me to be a very efficient body of men; 
they are very courteous to strangers, and have made the 
streets of the capital almost as safe as those of New York. 

Just as the London police are affectionately cafled 
"Bobbies," so the Mexican guardians of the law have their 
pet name, "Serenos." The old Spanish watchmen whom 
they supplanted used to call out the state of the weather 
just as did the English watchmen in olden times. As 



52 MEXICO 



I 



Mexican weather is usually clear, the watchman's cry was 
simply a reiteration of the words '^ Tiempo sereno " (weather 
clear), and thus they came to be called ^^Serenos." By 
the way, they have a peculiar custom of arresting all parties 
in an altercation. If a policeman is called to arrest an 
offender the complainant will be arrested as well and 
marched off to the pohce station. In such cases there is 
only one thing to do and that is to obey orders, accom- 
pany the policeman to the " comiseria," and trust to luck 
in having the matter settled by the officer on duty there. 

During my walk, I not only noticed the sharpness of 
the air, which every poor man in the street was trying to 
avoid by breathing through his cloak or blanket, but I also 
noticed a peculiar atmospheric quality which somehow 
reminded me of the high mountainous districts of Switzer- 
land. I also felt a queer dizzy sensation in my head and 
a slight difficulty in breathing. Then I remembered that 
I was in a region of rarefied air, for Mexico City is nearly 
8000 feet above the level of the sea. .It is owing to this 
high altitude that most visitors on their arrival experience 
a slight headache and shortness of breath, which, however, 
wears off in a day or two. 

The geographical situation of Mexico City is unique 
among the world's capitals. Lying on a beautiful plain 
about sixty miles long and thirty broad, the city is encircled 
by a chain of mountains, some of which have the charac- 
teristically pointed volcanic shape, while nearer to the city 
rises a long range of barren foot-hills. Owing to its altitude, 
the city usually enjoys an even and moderate temperature, 
the thermometer showing an average of seventy degrees 
the year round, and even the summer is pleasantly cool. 
Its peculiar situation, however, causes some very unpleas- 
ant climatic conditions, such as the '^ norther" which was 
blowing when I arrived. The sun is always waging war 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 53 

with the cloud troops and the mountain air, a combat of 
nature which gives rise to sudden and trying changes. 
The city being less sheltered from the north and northwest, 
the winds blowing over the snow-capped mountains often 
bring frost and even snow in the winter. On a bright, clear 
day, too, there is often an extraordinary difference between 
the temperature on the sunny and shady sides of the streets ; 
for it will be roasting hot on one side, while on the other 
one feels an unpleasant chill. In fact, the Spanish proverb 
regarding Madrid is often applicable to the Mexican me- 
tropolis, for the wind which on a bright day does not seem 
strong enough to blow out a candle on the sunny side of 
the street will almost take a man's life in the shade. 

The seasons in Mexico are divided into the dry and the 
rainy, the former beginning in November and lasting until 
June. In the highlands during this time of the year httle 
or no rain falls, save a few heavy showers in March or April, 
and unless a "norther" is blowing, the sun shines with un- 
clouded splendor and the sky is intensely blue. During 
the rains, from June to November, showers fall every day 
from two to four, and the dry, sun-baked plains and hills, 
arid and yellow, then turn to a rich emerald. Thus the 
cHmate of these Mexican highlands is no warmer in summer 
than in winter, and travelling, thanks to the absence of 
dust, is far more agreeable. It always puzzles the Mexicans 
why tourists visit their country when it is at its climatic 
worst. 

Around the city lie six shallow lakes, Texcoco, Xochil- 
milco, San Cristoval, Xaltocan, Zumpalgo and Chalco. 
The first of these is about three miles from the city. In 
Aztec times the waters of these lakes entirely surrounded 
the capital, but since the conquest their shores have gradu- 
ally receded. Zumpalgo is twenty-five feet higher than the 
city and drains into Texcoco, which caused a serious flood 



54 MEXICO 

on three occasions, the city being once inundated to the 
depth of seven feet, and there being no outlet, the waters 
remained in possession for j^ears. To prevent such another 
catastrophe, with all its attendant loss of life and property, 
the Spaniards, in 1607, began digging a huge drainage 
tunnel, which cost the hves of thousands of unfortunate 
Indian slaves. Unaccustomed to hard toil, half starved 
and overworked, they speedily succumbed to the ill treat- 
ment of their Spanish taskmasters. Their labor, after all, 
was in vain, for when the tunnel was at last completed, a 
large portion of the roof caved in. Many years later it 
was decided to turn the tunnel into an open canal, and work 
on this continued for over a hundred years, the canal being 
finished in 1789. It was known as the Tajo de Nochistongo, 
and remained in use until a few years ago, but was never 
satisfactory. It was then supplanted by a modern scheme 
of drainage carried out by Pearson & Sons, which has proved 
a great success not only in draining the overflow of the lakes, 
but in carrying off the city sewage. The old Tajo is now 
a dry trench, with an average depth of two hundred feet, 
from three to seven hundred feet wide at the top and slop- 
ing to a few feet in width at the bottom. It is nearly five 
miles long, and is partly used as a cutting by the Mexican 
Central Railway. 

It is curious that Cortes should have built his city on 
the site of the ancient one thus placed in the midst of lakes 
and swamps, with the accumulated debris and filth of ages 
beneath it. He had plenty of higher ground to choose 
from near at hand. It is difficult also to understand why 
he did not select a site nearer either of the coasts. Prob- 
ably he was tempted by the fact that there was plenty of 
building material at hand from the Aztec temples and palaces 
which he destroyed. Thus it was that the site of the 
modern Mexican capital was most unwisely chosen^ and 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 55 

the evil results of it are still experienced. Even to-day, 
a few feet below the surface the earth is soft and swampy, 
which has caused many of the buildings to settle unevenly, 
while it has also made the drainage of the city extremely 
difficult. 

Much has been done to mitigate the unfortunate position 
of the capital ; but the death-rate is still remarkably high, 
particularly in the winter. The average duration of life 
is said to be only twenty-six years, which amazing condition 
is largely due to infant mortality. Typhoid and malarial 
fevers are prevalent, and pneumonia takes heavy toll. 
Owing to the effect of the rarefied air on the action of the 
heart and lungs, diseases of these organs are rarely curable 
on the spot, and whenever possible patients are transferred 
for treatment to lower altitudes, such as Cuernavaca and 
Cuautla, which have altitudes of about five thousand feet. 

The hopeless ignorance of hygiene and the entire absence 
of sanitary conditions of life among the working classes is 
largely responsible for the heavy death-rate. Their dwell- 
ings are mere hovels, their habits are filthy, their clothes are 
ragged, and the foods they eat are ill-cooked and contain 
little nourishment. Thus it is no wonder that diseases, 
especially those associated with dirt, such as smallpox and 
typhus fever, are terribly common; while skin diseases, 
scrofula, rheumatism and bone troubles make constant 
inroads on the national health. No precautions being 
taken to insure the purity of the drinking water, the typhoid 
fiend stalks unchecked among the lower quarters of the city. 
A report of the American consul states that of three hundred 
and fifty-eight deaths occurring during one week in January, 
1908, one hundred and twenty-five were from ailments of 
the digestive organs, and one hundred and six pulmonary. 
Bad food, coupled with sudden changes of temperature, were 
the chief causes of this heavy mortality. 



56 MEXICO 

The population of Mexico City is thoroughly cosmopolitan, 
for it contains representatives from nearly every nation of 
the earth. The Indians are vastly in the majority; the 
half-breeds or meztizos, who call themselves the Mexicans, 
ranking next in number, and forming the great middle class. 
Then there is the richest class, for the most part of pure 
Spanish descent, ^^ whites," as they like to call themselves, 
from whose ranks most of the government officials are 
derived. These people of the upper class are not all dark ; 
still a blonde is very rare among them. Most of them are of 
olive-brown color, suggesting, in spite of their denial, a 
mixture of Indian blood; for in the early days it was not 
considered a mesalliance for a Spanish officer of even high 
rank to marry an Aztec maiden of the better class, so that 
Indian blood is, in fact, very widely diffused through the 
Mexican upper classes. 

I had a good opportunity to observe the mixed types 
of the city's population when I went out on the morning 
after my arrival, for in marked contrast with their deserted 
appearance the night before the streets were now crowded, 
and presented a queer motley of life. Numbers of men 
and just a few girls (as the custom of employing female 
clerks, etc., is only beginning to be adopted in Mexico's 
capital) were hurrying to business. Among these business 
men and clerks, dressed much as they would be in an Amer- 
ican city, were moving typical Mexican Indians in their 
cotton attire, blankets and straw sombreros. Their wo- 
men, mostly barefoot, pattered along wrapt in their rebosas. 
Sometimes one of the Indians would have his whole family 
with him, a row of ragged children, straggling behind in 
single file: Filthy little urchins of Indian newsboys, with 
lank black hair, brown, smiling faces, and merry black eyes, 
in tattered clothing and battered straw sombreros, hawked 
their papers at the street corners, shouting lustily, ^^El 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 61 

Im-par-ci-al" and ^'El Dia-r-io/' giving their r's a peculiar 
long trill. Along the street rode a troop of Mexican cav- 
alry, swarthy, bronzed fellows, mounted on the trim, ser- 
viceable Mexican pony, and dressed in blue uniforms and 
Austrian-shaped kepis of glazed leather, their rifles strapped 
on their backs. Here and there I passed a soldier on foot 
dressed in German fashion, a blue uniform with red facings, 
and a brass-spiked helmet. The scene was full of color 
and vivid contrasts. Electric street-cars glided by packed 
with people, many of them compelled to go to business 
in true strap-hanging fashion. Red and blue cabs were 
abroad, and now and again an automobile dashed past, 
its horn tooting merrily ; while the quaint old-world country 
life which lay outside the city boundaries was represented 
by a chance country wagon drawn by oxen, its wheels 
clumsy disks cut in a solid piece from some huge tree trunk. 
The weather was not unpleasant, for although the sky was 
still overcast, the '^norther" was moderating, and the air 
was slightly milder. 

Passing the new opera-house, which was in course of 
erection, and on which a large gang of workmen were 
hammering the great steel framework and hoisting stone, 
I came to the new Post-office, a magnificent structure of 
white stone and marble of platero or mixed Spanish design. 
It is one of the most beautiful public buildings in the world, 
and certainly does credit to Mexico, though its actual con- 
struction is due to an Italian architect and American con- 
tractors. The interior fittings are very elaborate, fine mar- 
bles and bronze being lavishly used. The opera-house is 
also being built by an American firm. 

Mexico City might be described as a sort of Americanized 
Madrid. The architecture of the older buildings is largely 
of the antique Spanish style, with a few modifications 
adopted for domestic and climatic reasons. Many of these 



58 MEXICO 

old structures are being rebuilt in much the same style as 
American business buildings ; and the Americanizing pro- 
cess is still further evidenced by some large, new office 
buildings of American design which have been erected in 
recent years. One peculiarity which is shared by many 
of the buildings, old and new, is the absence of cellars, 
which is due to the marshy nature of the soil. Chimneys 
are also scarce, as fireplaces are seldom used. 

The streets of the capital are laid out in blocks of the 
familiar chess-board pattern, on the same system as that 
of American cities. Looking down some of the principal 
streets, one sees a picturesque mixture of ancient, flat-roofed 
houses of stone or stucco, now used for business purposes, 
seldom over three stories in height, usually cream white, 
and having the familiar balconies round the first story. 
Intermixed with these are modern buildings of various 
heights and styles. On a clear day, with a bright blue sky 
overhead, the views down some of the older streets are won- 
derfully attractive, the long lines of buildings of mixed 
architecture and varied shades of color ending in a distant 
vista of reddish-tinted mountains which overlook the city. 

Most of the main thoroughfares have an up-to-date and 
prosperous appearance, but in the residential districts one 
catches glimpses at the crossways of queer, dingy side 
streets in which the houses, with their faded, cracked stucco 
and rusty ironwork, seem to have been painted a hundred 
years back and forgotten ever since. In many of these 
old-fashioned streets, houses which were once fashionable 
mansions are being gradually transformed into business 
buildings or are used as boarding-houses. In one quarter 
of the city — quite out of the world — I strolled through 
some narrow streets so little frequented that blades of 
grass were sprouting up through the cobble-stone paving. 
In these streets were some fine old mansions, evidently 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT ^^ 

built in a long-past age and once the homes of wealthy 
citizens ; but the district had become unfashionable, and 
the ancient mansions, tenanted by a very different class 
of people, had gradually fallen into decay. 

All these old houses had huge double doors, some of them 
beautifully carved, which opened on to the great stone- 
paved patio with its fountains, flowers and shrubbery, with 
wide flights of stone steps leading to the upper galleries. 
This is the invariable arrangement in the old Mexican 
houses, which are seldom imposing on the outside, their 
rows of iron-barred windows giving them rather a prison- 
like appearance. A peculiar feature of them is that the 
family usually occupies the upper stories, the ground floor 
being used for stables, the carriage room, and the servants' 
quarters. Strange to the American eye is the lack of chim- 
neys, already referred to, which is due to the fact that char- 
coal is generally used in Mexico for cooking and heating. 
Very little coal is found in the country, and as most of that 
used is imported from abroad, it is rather an expensive lux- 
ury. All through the city the charcoal sellers can be seen 
making their rounds with the cry of '^Carbosin'^ (charcoal). 
Poor families have to content themselves with a few small 
pieces — just enough to cook their frugal meals of tortillas 
and frijoles. 

Most of the business buildings which have been recently 
erected or reconstructed have rather an American look, 
the sign-boards helping to give this impression. I noticed, 
for instance, such famihar signs as ^'La Maquina Singer" 
(Singer Sewing Machine), "Maquina Escribir Remington" 
(Remington Typewriter), '^American Cash Register,'' 
'^Quaker Oats" and '^American Electric Co.," all indica- 
tions of the great American invasion. There were also 
some other signs of it. 

Americans seemed to swarm everywhere — in the streets, 



60 MEXICO 

in stores, in offices, and likewise in the drinking places ; 
for several American bars have lately been started in the 
central district. These are popular meeting places for a 
large class of Americans who come down to Mexico in 
search of employment or to embark in business in a small 
way. In one short street I saw an Americanized barber's 
shop, an American grocery store, an American drinking 
saloon, an American billiard room, an American boot- 
black's stand, and encountered so many Americans that it 
was difficult to realize that I was in Mexico City and not in 
Chicago or New York. As the result of this invasion, the 
principal shops make a great point of catering for Americans, 
and display the announcement so often seen abroad, 
''English spoken here." Some ultra-patriotic Americans 
object to this frequent use of the word ''English," and tell 
the Mexicans that it should be changed to "United States." 
While becoming gradually Americanized, Mexico City is, 
however, still cosmopolitan ; for in a short radius one can 
see a French costumier's, Spanish wines and groceries, a 
German hardware store and agencies of several important 
European firms of various nationalities. 

Some of the finest buildings in the city are in Calle Cinco 
de Mayo (Fifth of May Street) , a sort of Mexican Wall Street, 
where there are several new American office buildings — ■ 
skyscrapers of ten or more stories — most of them being 
the offices of railway companies. One of the best buildings 
is occupied by the Mexican Light and Power Company, 
a Canadian corporation supplying electric power for light- 
ing, running factories, street-cars, etc., from its works at a 
great waterfall about forty miles out. 

Some of the old buildings used to-day for business pur- 
poses date perhaps from the sixteen hundreds; but they 
have lost their antique appearance as far as the outside is 
concerned. Through their great square doorways, how- 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 61 

ever, can be seen the true old-fashioned patio, ^vith its 
galleries around each story, its central fountain and shrub- 
bery. Some of these old buildings were once the mansions 
of Spanish grandees, and fine carved fronts are to be seen. 
Among the most notable of the older buildings is the former 
residence of the Escandon family in the Calle San Fran- 
cisco, which is now cut up into offices, the first fioor being 
the ticket office of the Mexican Central Railway. 

Next to the Escandon mansion is the Jockey Club, com- 
monly known as the House of Tiles, built by the Count del 
Valle in the eighteenth century as a private residence. 
Its exterior is entirely covered with porcelain tiles of blue 
and white, imported from China at great cost. The en- 
trance is massive, and the grand stairway is a superb piece 
of work, practically unaltered from the olden days. A 
large lamp with an alabaster shade, which hangs on the 
landing, has a grim association, for it was beneath its light 
that the Count was assassinated. Throughout the interior 
the decoration is largely done in porcelain tiles ; and tum- 
bago, a valuable composite imported from China, has been 
used for the balustrading. 

The Jockey Club is the most exclusive of all Mexican 
clubs, very few foreign members being admitted. Mexicans 
are not clubable in the American or English sense, and in- 
stead of being founded in the interests of horse-racing or 
social intercourse, the original object of the Jockey Club 
was gambling. This was conducted to such a scandalous 
extent that, it is said. President Diaz, in his autocratic 
fashion, had a few years back to put a stop to the ruinously 
high stakes which were played for. At the present time 
the Jockey Club is practically a social club, where baccarat 
is played chiefly as an amusement, and the club now justi- 
fies its name by owning a race-track near the city, where 
meetings are held in the autumn and spring. 



62 MEXICO 

One of the most interesting streets in the capital is Calle 
San Francisco (San Francisco Street), Mexico City's Broad- 
way, which is the most Americanized street of all and a 
great resort for tourists. The numerous curio stores in 
this popular thoroughfare are owned principally by Ameri- 
cans, and in their windows are attractive displays of Mexi- 
can pottery, feather-work, opals, drawn-work, sarapes 
and Mexican trinkets — many of the latter suspiciously 
suggestive of Waltham or Meriden, U. S. A. — and of course 
quantities of picture postcards. There are also several 
American bookstores where American and English maga- 
zines and newspapers are sold. 

In the upper part of the street the shops are not imposing, 
being much as one would see in a small French town ; but 
farther down are some really fine establishments, jewelers, 
and others, which would do credit to Fifth Avenue. Here, 
too, there are several dulcerias (a combination of confec- 
tioner's and cafe) where pastry, tea, coffee, and chocolate are 
served. At these places, contrary to the usual Mexican 
custom, there are girl waitresses, most of them dark-skinned, 
Indian-looking ^^meztizas," very few of whom would take 
the first prize in a beauty contest. In this street there are 
some of the largest hotels, including the Iturbide, and also 
some of the leading restaurants. Over the Gambrinus, a 
German restaurant conducted by an enterprising Italian, 
the British Club has its rooms, where the travelling Briton, 
with proper credentials, can find an agreeable resting-place. 
Mexico, Germany, Italy, England — truly a cosmopolis ! 

In and around San Francisco Street there are a few 
department stores of the American type, selling a little 
of everything, and conducted on the American system. 
These establishments also announce their bargains in true 
American style. Plastered over the windows are such 
appeals as '^Ojo, gran barata, ojo" (Look at the great 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 63 

bargains; just look at them); '' Precios muy reducidos" 
(Prices greatly reduced); ''Gran reduccion" (Great re- 
duction). One worthy shopkeeper, with a Hmited knowl- 
edge of English, announced "Gods at the cut price," 
evidently a Mexican variation of the popular American 
expression, ''Goods at cut prices." Some shops, in a des- 
perate attempt to Anglicize themselves and appear very up 
to date, have christened themselves "Fashionable," "Old 
England," "High Life" (pronounced hig leef), "Five 
o'clock," "Royal Club." 

In one restaurant an attempt had been made to "Eng- 
lish" the bill of fare, with such lamentable results as "Beef- 
steati viete" (for sirloin steak) and "Cocteel" (cocktail). 
One of the dulcerias, too, which caters for English and 
American patronage and serves American "breakfast 
foods, " had made a brave attempt to translate some of their 
weird names for the benefit of customers, the menu card 
being a hotch-potch of Spanish and English. The trans- 
lator started off with oatmeal, which he transformed into 
"avena," this word having to do duty in describing various 
cereals of a totally different character, " Shredded- wheat 
biscuit," for instance, appearing as "Biscochos de avena." 
But when at last he came to such terrifying names as 
"Puffed Rice," "Roasted Pearl Grits" and "Syrup Waf- 
fles," he had evidently given up the task in despair, as there 
was a long series of melancholy blanks. The translated 
terms were not exactly a success. I ordered some "Bis- 
cochos de avena, " and the waitress brought me an omelette ! 

Every shop in the city has a name painted over the door, 
and sometimes they are very picturesque. It is all much 
like the old English custom of the sign-board, "At the sign 
of the Boot," "The Leather Bottle," etc., but the names 
are not always so appropriate. Thus one drug store calls 
itself the "Gate to Heaven," and a drinking saloon is "The 



64 MEXICO 

Bait of the Devil"; a hat shop is entitled ^^El Sombrero 
Rojo" (the red hat), a petty tobacconist's is '^El Universo/' 
while a grocer calls his establishment '^El Puerto de New 
York/' although it appears to have nothing to do with that 
city. Other stores were labelled "La Ciudad de Londres" 
(City of London), "La, Suiza" (the Swiss Woman), etc. 
But the custom is gradually dying out, and the common- 
place system of putting up the firm's name is coming into 
vogue. Mexican shopkeepers are evidently alive to the 
sweet uses of advertisement. They stock the latest novel- 
ties and lavishly advertise in the newspapers, and with 
wall-posters and street-car signs. Even the drop-curtains 
of the theatres are adorned with advice to the audience as 
to the best drinking saloon, the cheapest tailor's or the 
best cure for corns. 

Some of the streets have names as grotesque as those 
of the stores, which is very bewildering, as there are over 
nine hundred streets, and each in its length will rechristen 
itself at almost every street corner. San Francisco Street, 
for instance, is called First San Francisco, Second San Fran- 
cisco and Third San Francisco. Some streets bear the 
names of men honored in Mexican history. Others are of an 
elaborate religious character, such as ^Talle Amor de Dios" 
(Love of God Street), ^Talle Espiritu Santo" (Holy Ghost 
Street), "Sepulchre of the Holy Ghost Street," "Sabbath 
Street," etc. Some names are grotesque, such as "Sad 
Indian Street," "Pass if you can Street," "Lost Child 
Street," "Street of the Wood Owls," "Bridge of the Raven 
Street," "Walking Priest Street." Sometimes a street 
at a special spot is called "Puente," such as "Puente de 
San Francisco," which means that there was originally 
a bridge over a canal, but the canal has disappeared ages 
ago. As in London, some streets belong to certain indus- 
tries. For instance, there is "Coffin-makers' Street/' 



MEXICO CITY BY NIGHT 65 

entirely given over to that lugubrious calling. The nar- 
rowness of the sidewalks in the busy streets causes many 
people to walk in the roadway, and as these thoroughfares 
are always thronged during the daytime, the city seems to 
have a much larger population than it really has. 

Shopping and shopkeeping in Mexico City have several 
odd features. In the old-fashioned stores, for example, 
the salesmen stand in a row behind the counters like a file 
of soldiers. Smoking is permitted, and the salesman meas- 
ures off a yard of cloth or fits you with new collars between 
the puffs of his cigarette. In the smaller establishments 
the prices quoted are always higher than you are expected 
to pay, for the Mexican shopkeeper assumes that his cus- 
tomer is a bargain-driver. This is also true of the Mexican 
stall-keepers in the markets, who always demand about 
three times the real price of their wares. Some of the goods 
in the stores are surprisingly cheap, but most of them are 
dear from the American point of view. This is due to the 
high protective tariff, which imposes a heavy duty on most 
imports. American toilet articles and patent medicines 
are about twice the regular price; furniture, too, is very 
expensive, and all clothing, hats, shoes, gloves, etc., are 
very dear. Probably the expensiveness of women's cloth- 
ing is the reason for the poverty-stricken appearance of so 
many Mexican women of the lower middle class. 

Wherever you walk, ragged Indian men, women and 
boys badger you with the persistent cry of '^Boleto por la 
loteria, por manana, seiior" (Tickets for to-morrow's 
lottery, sir). Second-rate shops, too, expose these tickets 
for sale. There are all kinds of lotteries, for the Mexicans 
are born gamblers, and people of all classes buy the tickets. 
Some of the lotteries are conducted by the National and 
State governments and bring in large revenue. There are 
also private lotteries of various kinds, and even on the 



66 MEXICO 

backs of the street-car tickets, and on coupons in cigarette 
packets are the fateful words entithng you to some kind 
of drawing. The prizes generally range from fifty cents to 
150,000, and the tickets vary in price from twenty-five 
cents to $25. Men have sometimes founded their fortunes 
by winning a lottery prize, and thus procuring the capital 
to embark in business. While I was in Mexico, a poor peon 
invested all his savings in a ticket and won $10,000, a sum 
sufficient to keep him in luxury for the rest of his life. 
Enlightened Mexicans regard these lotteries as a great 
public evil, and would have them suppressed, but public 
opinion is too strongly in their favor. An important con-, 
cession to public morals has, however, been made in recent 
years by the closing of the public gambling houses which 
were once common in the city. 

One of the worst features of Mexico City is the swarm of 
beggars, who constitute a serious nuisance. Filthily dirty 
and truly worthy of the title, ^^ Verminous persons, 'Hhelame, 
the halt, the blind, and able-bodied rogues and vagrants 
are encountered almost everywhere, demanding centavos. 
Beggars are common throughout Mexico, but they are seen 
at their worst in the capital. The city government has 
made an attempt to check this nuisance by compelling each 
beggar to take out a license, which, it is true, costs nothing, 
but is only issued on proof of the beggar's actual want. 
As elsewhere, these hordes of cadgers have undoubtedly 
been much encouraged by the public, and especially by 
American tourists, whose indiscriminate charity, however 
well intended, has only served to increase the begging 
nuisance. 



CHAPTER IV 



Just as in order to understand modern Mexico one must 
know something of her past, so in order to fully appreciate 
Mexico's fascinating history, which has been so graphically 
related in the pages of Prescott, one must stand upon the 
historical ground where the drama of the country was un- 
folded. Gazing on the spot where once stood the great 
temple of the Mexican gods and the palace of Montezuma, 
upon the identical place where the Spaniards were butchered 
by the Aztecs during the '' sorrowful night" of their flight 
from the city, upon the tree beneath which Cortes wept 
over this defeat, the stranger cannot help but feel emotion, 
however lethargic his interest may previously have been. 
Fully as thrilling are the events which followed the War of 
Independence in 1811, when Spanish rule came to an end in 
Mexico, the series of revolutions which followed, and the 
incidental wars of invasion ; for twice during the past cen- 
tury the Mexican capital has been occupied by foreign 
armies and its streets have resounded, in turn, to the strains 
of Yankee Doodle and the Marseillaise. The present is 
the child of the past, and the influence of all these strange 
events may be traced in greater or lesser measure in the 
development of the Mexican people to-day. 

Mexico's earliest history is unfortunately shrouded in 
profound mystery. The native records, which might have 
thrown some light upon it, were ruthlessly destroyed at the 

67 



68 MEXICO 

time of the Spanish conquest, when ignorance and bigotry 
were active in stamping out all traces of native culture. 

After the conquest, several Spanish chroniclers collected 
the oral traditions of the conquered people, while certain 
native writers who had learned Spanish wrote what pur- 
ported to be a history of their country. This great mass of 
material, which has been so fascinatingly condensed and 
presented by Prescott in his ^Tonquest of Mexico," is a 
curious blending of fact and fiction. On one point, how- 
ever, all narrations agree, namely, that Mexico is a country 
of great antiquity and has been peopled by a succession of 
races. Of these early inhabitants almost nothing is known. 

Scattered all over Mexico are the ruins of cities, temples 
and palaces built in remote periods, and which were prob- 
ably in much the same condition ages before the Spaniards 
came. The mystery which surrounds their prehistoric 
builders is deepened by the strange relics of the past which 
are being constantly unearthed. Jade beads which un- 
doubtedly came from China are found with stone idols 
and statues of marked Egyptian appearance; while inter- 
mixed with pyramids which recall those of early Egypt 
are ruins of temples and palaces, the architecture of which 
bears a singular resemblance to that of Japan. Among 
the Indian races of Mexico to-day certain customs exist 
which seem to have had their origin in the Far East ; and 
there is much resemblance between the religion of the early 
inhabitants and that of China and India. These facts 
have led many historians to believe that some connection 
was actually established between ancient Mexico and the 
Orient. 

According to native traditions, the whole of Mexico was 
originally known as Anahuac, and was inhabited by a suc- 
cession of highly cultured races who built the vast temples 
and palaces, the ruins of which still exist. The most ad- 



MEXICO, PAST AND PEE SENT 69 

vanced of these were the Toltecs, who were said to have 
come from some unknown land. Fresco tt represents them 
as having arrived in Anahuac in the seventh century; 
other authorities beheve that they entered the country 
fully five thousand years earlier. The Toltecs are said to 
have built a wonderful city called Tula, and an attempt 
has been made to identify this prehistoric city with a little 
village of adobe huts and magnificent ruins not far from 
the capital. This is but one of many instances in which 
Toltec names of towns and districts still survive. 

It was at Tula, according to ancient legends, that Quet- 
zalcoatl, a mysterious messiah, known as the Fair God, 
made his appearance. He was a white man with a long, 
flowing beard who taught the Toltecs the arts of civiliza- 
tion, agriculture and war, then sailed away to the west to 
return to his own country. After his departure he was 
deified by the Toltecs, who represented him in their sculp- 
tures as a winged serpent. He had promised to return 
after many years, and this pledge was handed down from 
generation to generation. 

All traditions agree that the Toltecs were a people of 
wonderful culture ; that they were peaceful and temperate, 
had reached a high moral plane, and had a form of reli 
gion which was largely nature-worship. Fruit and flowers 
were offered in their temples, which were never stained with 
human blood as in later Aztec times. Castes existed among 
them, and as in the case of some races of the Far East, 
they had two written languages, one of which was used 
when addressing superiors, the other for inferiors. Their 
social classes were divided into priests, warriors, merchants 
and tillers of the soil. They also had an elaborate feudal 
system. 

The empire of the Toltecs was eventually overthrown by 
an invasion of fierce tribes who swept down through Mexico 



70 MEXICO 

from the north, followed in turn by races of higher civiliza- 
tion, perhaps akin to the Toltecs, whose language they ap- 
pear to have spoken. The Toltecs gradually relinquished 
possession of the country and retired southwards, while the 
invaders apparently acquired some of the culture of the 
people whom they had displaced. Some of them, notably 
the Tezcucans, eventually made great progress in the arts 
of civilization. Some of these tribes developed a system 
of picture-writing resembling somewhat that of the North 
American Indians.^ 

^ An interesting specimen of these picture-writings, which is pre- 
served in Mexico, records how the ancestors of the Tarascan Indians 
inhabiting the State of Michoacan, came down into Anahuac from 
the far north. A reproduction of this ancient record is given on the 
opposite page. 

According to tradition, the Tarascans were one of nine tribes who 
wandered down to Mexico, having emerged from seven caves in the 
west, and passing a narrow arm of the sea on wooden rafts or hurdles 
made of canoes fastened together. They marched together from this 
place, and after many days halted at a large tree, in the trunk of which 
an altar was erected to the god Huitzilolvehtli. While encamped 
there, the tree suddenly split in the middle. Taking this as a bad 
omen, the heads of the tribes consulted the god, who advised them to 
take separate roads, which was done, some of the tribes going in one 
direction and others in another. The Tarascans eventually took 
possession of the country around Lake Patzcuaro. 

These scenes are all depicted in the record. The square at the 
upper right-hand corner shows the tribes emerging from the caves, 
led by their nine high priests ; and intersecting the squares are lines 
showing the road they took. Each square depicts some incident in 
their long wanderings, a special feature being made of their encamp- 
ment at the tree of Huitzilolvehtli. Over the squares are inscriptions 
in the Tarascan and Mexican languages, supposed to have been added 
by native writers some years after the Spanish conquest. Some of 
the words have been translated ; the meaning of others is unknown. 
Two colors are used in the drawing — black and red. The latter is 
used only for the line which indicates the road followed and for the 
species of shirt or jacket worn by the individuals who appear to be 
chiefs or priests. 

Speaking of these picture-writings, Prescott says: "A Mexican 
manuscript looks usually like a collection of pictures, each one form- 



MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT Tl 

Chief among the invading tribes were the Aztecs, who are 
supposed to have come from northern Cahfornia and made 
their way southward. According to Aztec legends, they 
were told by an oracle that they should build a great city 
on a site that would be indicated by an eagle perched on the 
stem of a cactus or prickly pear with a serpent in his talons. 
In 1325, so tradition says, they arrived in the Valley of 
Mexico, where the capital now stands, led by their high 
priest, Tenoch, a sort of Aztec Moses, whose name meant 
'' the stone cactus." As they approached the lake, the 
site of the present city, they beheld a golden eagle stand- 
ing on a prickly pear, holding in his talons a serpent, 
as had been predicted. In obedience to the sign, the 
Aztecs settled at the lake, built their temple and 
founded a great city, which they called Tenochtitlan, after 

ing the subject of a separate study. The Aztecs had various emblems 
for expressing such things as from their nature could not be directly 
represented by the painter. A ' tongue/ for example, denoted speak- 
ing; a 'footprint/ travelling; 'man on the ground/ an earthquake. 
These symbols were often very arbitrary, varying with the caprice 
of the writer; and it required a nice discrimination to interpret them, 
as a slight change in the form or position of the figure intimated a very 
different meaning. They also employed phonetic signs, though these 
were chiefly confined to the names of persons and places. Lastly, 
the pictures were colored in gaudy contrasts, so as to produce the most 
vivid impression, for even colors speak in the Aztec hieroglyphics. 

" Clumsy as it was, however, the Aztec picture-writing enabled the 
people to digest a complete system of chronology and to specify with 
accuracy the dates of the most important events in their history. 
Serving as a sort of stenography or collection of notes, these writings 
were used in the colleges of the priests, where the youth were in- 
structed in astronomy, history, mythology, etc. This combination 
of the written and oral comprehended what may be called the litera- 
ture of the Aztecs. 

"The manuscripts were made of different materials, cotton cloth 
or skins nicely prepared; a composition of silk and gum; but for the 
most part a kind of paper made from the leaves of the maguey. The 
few Mexican manuscripts which are now preserved in Europe have 
been reproduced in Lord Kingsborough's magnificent work, 'The 
Antiquities of Mexico.' " 



72 MEXICO 

the holy sign and their priestly guide, the word meaning 
"the place of the cactus." The legend of the eagle, the 
serpent and the prickly pear is now preserved in the Mexican 
arms, and is perpetuated on the coins and the national 
banner. 

In later years the city was called Mexico after Mextili, 
the Aztec God of War, and this name was eventually given 
to the entire country. 

The ancient city of the Aztecs bore some resemblance 
to Venice, some of the houses resting on piles, others being 
built on the numerous islands, with canals intersecting the 
various parts of the city. Massive stone structures, re- 
sembling those of Egypt, were reared, including the great 
Teocalli or Temple of the Aztec gods, in pyramidal form, 
over a hundred feet high, with one hundred and fourteen 
steps, reaching from the ground to the esplanade, broad 
enough for thirty horsemen to march abreast. Great 
paved causeways led from the city to the surrounding 
villages. 

The Aztecs, at first, were a fierce, migratory people ; but 
after their arrival in Mexico they seem to have acquired 
the civilization of the tribes by whom they were surrounded, 
who had inherited the arts and civilization of the Toltecs 
or other races whom they had succeeded. Having made 
great advancement in the arts of war, the Aztecs gradually 
subjugated the surrounding nations and extended their 
sway over a large part of Mexico. The empire of their 
great king, Montezuma I, was established about 1460. 
Under this monarch their power and prestige greatly in- 
creased. 

The Aztecs and other races inhabiting Mexico at this 
time were largely sun-worshippers, their religion being 
distinguished by the most cruel and terrible ceremonies. 
Prisoners of war, slaves and other victims were slaughtered 



MEXICO, PAST AND PBESENT 73 

by thousands in the temples. When the great temple of 
Tenochtitlan was dedicated, twenty thousand are said to 
have been sacrificed in four days. In the centre of this 
temple stood the sacrificial stone now in the Mexican Na- 
tional Museum. On this the victim was stretched, when his 
body was cut open by the officiating priest, and his heart 
being torn out was offered to the sun and the ferocious 
God of War. The bodies of the sacrificed were afterwards 
devoured by the populace. Thousands of skulls, the result 
of this butchery, were formed into a huge pyramid in the 
temple, the walls and fioor of which reeked with blood. 

Apart from their terrible religious ceremonies, the Aztecs 
were a remarkable and cultured race. Even in their reli- 
gion they recognized a supreme being, and some of their 
prayers which have been handed down are remarkable for 
their lofty sentiments and the beauty of their language.^ 

^ " In contemplating the religious system of the Aztecs," says Pres- 
cott, "one is struck by this apparent incongruity, as though some 
portion of it had emanated from a comparatively refined people open 
to gentle influences, while the rest breathes a spirit of unmitigated 
ferocity. It naturally suggests the idea of two distinct sources, and 
authorizes the belief that the Aztecs had inherited from their pred- 
ecessors a milder faith on which was afterwards engrafted their own 
mythology." 

The Aztecs recognized the existence of a supreme being, the Lord 
of the universe. They addressed Him in their prayers as "the God 
by whom we live," "omnipresent," "that knoweth all thoughts and 
giveth all gifts," "without whom man is nothing," "the invisible, 
incorporeal, one God of perfect perfection and purity," "under whose 
wings we find repose and a sure defence." These sublime attributes 
infer no inadequate conception of the true God. But the idea of unity 
was too simple or too vast for their understandings, and they sought 
relief in a plurality of deities who presided over the elements, the 
changes of the seasons and the occupations of man. Of these there 
were thirteen principal deities and more than two hundred inferior. 
At the head of these stood the terrible Huitzilopochtli, the Mexican 
Mars, the patron deity of the nation. His temples were the most 
stately of the public edifices, and his altars reeked with the blood of 
human hecatombs in every city of the empire. At the dedication of 



74 MEXICO 

They were learned in astronomy; were good lapidaries 
and potters, workers in silver and gold and weavers of 
cotton and silk. They cultivated the land thoroughly, 
and had developed elaborate systems of irrigation. 
Commerce was organized; towns and villages were con- 
nected by roadways ; and law and order prevailed. They 
had an ingenious method of picture-writing and a regular 
system of education for the young. 

The doom of the Aztec empire and its neighbors was 
sealed in 1519, when Hernando Cortes landed in Mexico 
on his expedition of conquest. He had a fleet of 11 ships 
carrying 110 sailors, 16 cavalrymen with their horses, 
553 foot-soldiers, 200 Cuban natives, a battery of 10 small 
cannon and 4 falconets. To check mutiny among his 
Spanish followers and to prevent them from seizing the 
ships and retreating, Cortes burned his vessels at Vera 
Cruz, then marched inland to the capital of the Aztecs. 
Montezuma II then reigned in Tenochtitlan. He had been 
informed of Cortes' arrival by spies who had been sent down 
to the coast. By relays of runners it was possible for a 
message to reach the Aztec capital (265 miles from the coast) 
in twelve hours. It is said that fish caught at Vera Cruz 
in the evening was served at the dinner of Montezuma 
the following day. This would be as fast as the railway 
train- travels to-day. The Spaniards were astonished 
at the rapidity with which news of their movements was 
spread. By these runners the Aztec monarchs kept in com- 
munication with all parts of their empire.^ 

the great temple in the capital it is said that seventy thousand cap- 
tives were slaughtered at the shrine of this terrible deity. 

^ Prescott quotes an author who relates how a North- American In- 
dian travelled a hundred miles in twenty-four hours. According to 
Plutarch, the Greek who brought the news of the battle of Platsea 
covered one hundred and twenty-five miles in a day. Prescott adds : 
"The Aztec couriers travelled with such incredible swiftness that 







HERNANDO CORTES. 
From an original portrait in the Mexican National Museum. 



MEXICO, PAST AND PBESENT 75 

Montezuma and his priests were convinced from their 
official reports that Cortes was none other than the Fair 
God, Quetzalcoatl, the child of the sun, whose' return had 
been promised ages before. They recalled a prediction 
that Quetzalcoatl was to overturn the Aztec empire. 
Montezuma sent the supposed god lavish gifts of gold, and 
endeavored to dissuade him from coming to the capital; 
but the gold only whetted the appetite of the Spaniards 
for more and hastened their march to the interior. 

Cortes was greatly aided in his conquest of Mexico by 
Marina, a beautiful young slave who had been presented 
to him by a Tabascan chief. She was an Aztec, but having 
learned various dialects when in Tabasco, she was enabled 
to communicate indirectly with Cortes, who became in- 
fatuated with her beauty and made her his mistress. She 
eventually learned Spanish, and acted as interpreter be- 
tween himself and Montezuma. Marina told the Mexicans 
glowing stories of the greatness and splendor of the Span- 
iards, and it was undoubtedly through her influence that 
the natives went in such great awe of these strange beings 
who had come to them from over the seas. 

Soon after his arrival, Cortes invaded the country of the 
Tlascalans, one of the powerful tribes, who had a repubhcan 
form. of government and were at war with the Aztecs. 
After conquering them, Cortes gained them as allies, and 
a large force of Tlascalans accompanied him on his march 
through the country. He next marched into the kingdom 
of Cholula, which he subjugated, destroying all the temples 
and public buildings, and slaughtering thousands of the 
inhabitants. The natives were terror-stricken by the can- 
despatches were carried, by relays of runners, from one to two hun- 
dred miles a day. Fresh fish was frequently served at Montezuma's 
table in twenty-four hours from the time it had been taken in the 
Gulf of Mexico, over two hundred miles from the capital." 



76 MEXICO 

non and firearms of the Spaniards, and as they had never 
seen a horse, the animal and rider were supposed to be one 
being, and were regarded as superhuman. Marching over 
the mountains, Cortes pressed on to Tenochtitlan, passed 
over the causeways and entered the city on November 8, 
1519. 

Montezuma came out to meet the conqueror and, under 
the influence of superstition, regarding the Spaniards as 
gods, the Aztecs made no attempt to prevent their entry. 
The Spanish leader took up his residence in the old palace 
of Montezuma, where much treasure was discovered and 
divided among the invaders. 

Early the next year (1520), owing to the cruelty of a 
body of Cortes' soldiers, who robbed and murdered a num- 
ber of Aztec nobles, the people rose in revolt. Montezuma, 
who had been seized and held prisoner by the Spaniards, 
was killed while attempting to quell the uprising. On the 
night of July 1 (afterwards known as "la noche triste" or 
^^ sorrowful night") the Spaniards attempted to secretly 
evacuate the city, but were detected and pursued, many 
of them were killed or taken prisoners and thousands 
of their Tlascalan followers were slaughtered. With the 
remnant of his force, Cortes retreated to Tlascala. In 
the meantime, Cuautlahuac, brother of Montezuma, was 
crowned king, but dying four months later, was succeeded 
by Guatemotzin or Cuauhtemoc, Montezuma's nephew, who 
proved to be a brave and able leader. Cortes, refusing 
to acknowledge defeat, recruited his forces at Tlascala, and 
won the support of all the tribes who had suffered from 
Aztec oppression. From mountain forests he brought 
timber sixty miles overland to the shores of Lake Texcoco, 
built thirteen brigantines, crossed the lake and once more 
appeared before the walls of Tenochtitlan with two hundred 
thousand allies. 



MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT 77 

The siege began on December 3, 1520, and continued 
until August 13, 1521, when the garrison was starved into 
submission and the Spaniards entered the city. Before 
it fell, all the Aztec treasure was destroyed or concealed. 
Guatemotzin was cruelly tortured by having his feet held 
over a glowing fire, but he refused to disclose the secret. 
The lake and canals were dredged several times, but only 
a small part of the treasure was recovered. The unfor- 
tunate young monarch was afterwards compelled by Cortes 
to go with him on an expedition into Honduras. In the 
depths of the jungle Cortes had him hanged to the branch 
of a ceiba tree. Thus perished the last of the Aztec kings. 

Cortes destroyed the temples in the city and ordered the 
erection of churches and convents, the first church — now 
the cathedral — being built upon the site of the great temple 
of the Aztecs. The Spanish priests, with fanatical frenzy, 
destroyed nearly all the Aztec picture records or codices, 
making huge bonfires of them. Of those which escaped 
destruction a few are preserved in European museums, 
notably at the Vatican, and some are in the Mexican Na- 
tional Museum. The Aztec houses and public buildings 
were gradually torn down and replaced with Spanish houses, 
but the formation of the city was generally observed. In 
1634 there was an earthquake, and the waters of the lake 
suddenly disappeared and the canals gradually dried up. 
After the Spanish occupation the native population of the 
city decreased until in 1600 there were only about ten 
thousand natives and about the same number of Spaniards. 
From that time the increase in numbers of Spaniards and 
mixed population was very rapid, until at the end of the 
next century there was a population of nearly one hundred 
and twenty-five thousand. 

Cortes became the first governor of Mexico, acquired 
vast estates, was created Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, 



78 MEXICO 

and subjugated the rest of Mexico. Many of his followers 
found wives among Aztec women of noble birth/ 

Warlike enough before the Spaniards came, the Aztec 
masses seem to have been subdued at one blow, and were 
soon reduced to the position of mere serfs. The Spanish 
priests, too, having gained a great influence over the natives, 
taught them to obey those whom God had sent to conquer 
their country. Chiefs who would not submit quietly were 
won by bribery. Thus by means of force, religion and every 
corrupt means that could be employed, the spirit of the 

^ The author of "Picturesque Mexico" (pub. 1897) says: "Many- 
Mexican famines of high lineage can point to a family history dating 
back to the days of the war against the Moors. Some of them are 
wealthy and still possessed of great estates. Descendants of Cortes 
still exist, some bearing his name; one of them is living to-day in 
Tacubaya. 

" There are also several descendants of Aztec monarchs, notably 
Senor Roberto Luis Cuauhtemoc, who is fourteenth in descent from 
the emperor, Cuautlahuac, brother of Montezuma II. Other descend- 
ants of Cuautlahuac are Don Pedro Patino Itzalinque, who lives in 
Holland, and another, Don Pedro Patino Itzalinque, living in the 
City of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. 

" There are several well-proved descendants of Aztec monarchs now 
living, who draw pensions from the Mexican government. Some 
of them reside in Spain and other European countries, and among 
them is the Duke of Abrantes, the Marquis del Aguilar Fuerte and 
the Conde de Miravalles. 

" The direct descendants of Montezuma are living in Salamanca, 
Spain, the present head of the family being Seiior Don Augustin 
Maldonado y Carbayal Cano Montezuma, Marquis of Castellanos y 
Monroy. The Maldonado family is connected by marriage with the 
English house of Lancaster and also with the house of Abrantes and 
Medinaceli, which are of the first nobility in Spain. 

" Among other descendants of Montezuma is Eugenie, ex-empress of 
the French. It is therefore apparent that the widow of Napoleon III 
was of greater imperial stock than her husband, and brought to the 
alliance more dignity than she acquired by it. 

" In Mexico City there is a gentleman named Mercado who is a de- 
scendant of Montezuma, who has many relics of his illustrious ances- 
tors, and is extremely well versed in the history of the Montezuma 



MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT 79 

people was crushed and all resistance to Spanish rule was 
overcome. Then followed a great building period. The 
cities throughout Mexico were rebuilt according to Spanish 
ideas ; and great churches and cathedrals were erected by 
Indian workmen on the grandiose designs of Spanish archi- 
tects. 

Thereafter, for three hundred years, Mexico was under 
the dominion of Spain. During this time there were five 
governors, two councils of three to five members each, and 
sixty-two viceroys, the first of whom was appointed in 1535. 
The rule of some of the viceroys was wise and able, and the 
country made great progress ; but as in all Spanish colonies, 
there was great corruption, oppression and misgovernment. 
All public offices were held by Spaniards, while the natives, 
even those of Spanish descent, received no recognition. 

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Na- 
poleon had overturned thrones and marched an army into 
Spain, the spirit of revolution spread to Mexico. The newly 
acquired independence of the United States of North Amer- 
ica also served to arouse a desire for freedom among the 
Mexicans. Several insurrections started at this period, but 
were speedily stamped out. The first important uprising 
took place in September, 1810, when Miguel Hidalgo, curate 
of the village of Dolores in the State of Guanajuato, began 
the first great movement for independence by ringing the 
bell of his church, calling his people together and starting 
a war for freedom. Raising a sacred banner bearing the 
figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the priest organized a 
little army of three hundred men, armed with clubs, swords, 
knives and bows and arrows. At the head of these in- 
surgents, he marched to Guanajuato, the people of the 
country everywhere flocking to his aid. The Spanish gar- 
rison at Guanajuato was defeated and the city captured. 
After successful battles at Morelia and Valladohd, Hidalgo 



80 MEXICO 

marched towards Mexico City, but when almost within sight 
of the capital was defeated, driven back, and his army- 
dispersed. Hidalgo and his chief officers, Allende, Aldama, 
and Jiminez, were betrayed, captured and executed. 

After the death of Hidalgo, a desultory struggle against 
the Spaniards continued for ten years, and then a new 
leader, also a priest, Jose Maria Morelos, who had been a 
student under Hidalgo, entered the field. Organizing a 
small army, Morelos for two years waged war against the 
Spaniards, but was at last defeated by an overwhelming 
force, betrayed and captured. He was tried by an ec- 
clesiastical tribunal and degraded from the priesthood, 
then handed over to the military authorities, by whom he 
was condemned to death and shot near the capital in De- 
cember, 1815. To-day he ranks next to Hidalgo as one of 
the heroes of Mexico. 

The next prominent leader in the fight for freedom was 
Augustin Iturbide, a Mexican of Spanish descent, and a 
former royalist officer, who had been largely responsible 
for the defeat of Morelos. Deserting from the Spanish 
army, Iturbide gathered all the insurgent leaders around 
him and issued a proclamation, pledging the support of his 
party to the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church, 
to the exclusion of all others ; the independence of Mexico, 
with a monarchical government under a Spanish prince; 
union and equality of Spaniards and Mexicans. His army 
thus became known as the Army of the Three Guarantees. 
A number of Spanish regiments deserted and joined Itur- 
bide, who in 1821 marched through Mexico, capturing city 
after city, and at last occupied the capital. This practically 
ended Spanish rule in Mexico, and after a year or two of 
negotiations, the independence of the country was at last 
recognized by the Spanish government. 

After the revolution, Iturbide forced the Mexican Con- 



MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT 81 

gress to select an emperor, and by threats and bribes man- 
aged to get sufficient votes to secure his own election. 
He and his wife were crowned in the cathedral as emperor 
and empress of Mexico. His title was Augustin I. He 
ruled unwisely, dissolved the Congress in less than four 
months, sent several members to prison and created so 
much discord that uprisings were of frequent occurrence. 
A successful revolution was led by General Santa Ana; 
the empire was overturned, and a republic established, with 
Santa Ana as president. Banished from Mexico, Iturbide 
was given a pension of $25,000 a year for his past services. 
He went to England for a time, but unwisely returned 
to Mexico in 1824 to lead a new revolution, when he was 
arrested, condemned to death and shot. Some of his 
descendants are still living in Mexico and enjoy a good 
deal of social distinction. 

From 1824 until 1846 there were constant revolutions 
as the result of disputed elections. In the latter year 
troubles arose with the United States over Texas, which 
had formerly belonged to Mexico, but had seceded, and after 
a few years as an independent republic had been annexed 
by the Americans. War was forced on Mexico by the 
United States, and two American armies were marched into 
Mexican territory, one coming down from Texas south- 
ward, the other landing at Vera Cruz. After a series of 
battles, in which the Mexicans were defeated and sustained 
heavy losses, the Americans entered the capital. A treaty 
was then signed which gave the United States a vast ter- 
ritory, including New Mexico, Arizona, and California, 
the Mexican government receiving fifteen million dollars 
compensation. General Grant, who was then a lieutenant 
in the United States army, once declared that the war 
with Mexico was the most unholy and unjust war ever 
waged by a strong nation against a weaker one. 



82 MEXICO 

Following the American war there were more revolutions, 
which continued until 1861. Benito Juarez, a full-blood 
Mexican Indian, called the George Washington of Mexico, 
then became President. A great struggle between church 
and state had been in progress for several years, and it 
came to a climax at that time. The church, which had 
burdened the Mexican people with such a vast number of 
priests, friars and nuns, and had acquired most of the wealth 
of the country, clung tenaciously to its privileges and prop- 
erty. After adopting a new constitution, declaring for 
separation of church and state, the Mexican Congress passed 
a law confiscating church property, closing the monasteries 
and convents and restricting the power of the church. This 
resulted in civil war between the clerical and liberal parties. 
Juarez personally commanded the liberal forces, and in 
1860 entered the capital. The Liberals, in the meantime, 
were excommunicated by the church, and in retaliation the 
Papal Delegate and several bishops were ordered by Juarez 
to leave Mexico. The country was then in a terrible con- 
dition. Bandits committed depredations everywhere, and 
many foreigners were robbed and murdered. 

In 1861 the Mexican Congress passed a law suspending 
payment of interest on the bonds of the Republic held by 
foreigners. This gave the European powers an excuse 
for intervention. The French government claimed S600,000 
damages suffered by French subjects during the civil war. 
No doubt damage had been suffered; but many of the 
claims were ludicrous, as, for example, one item of $60,000, 
the value of pies alleged to have been stolen from a French 
cook by the Mexican soldiers. In 1862, a combined British, 
French and Spanish fleet arrived at Vera Cruz, and an allied 
force was landed for the purpose of enforcing payment of 
Mexican obligations. President Juarez met the represent- 
atives of the powers at Orizaba, and signed a treaty ac- 




THE EMPEROE MAXIMILIAN. 

Mexico's ill-fated ruler, shot at Queretaro in 1867. 



MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT 83 

knowledging the claims and promising payment. Great 
Britain and Spain then withdrew their forces. Encouraged 
by the clerical party, the French remained ; and Napoleon 
III, who was anxious to increase his prestige by establishing 
a monarchy in the Western Hemisphere, readily entered 
into a scheme of conquest. 

Four thousand French troops eventually landed in Mexico 
and advanced to Puebla, where they were defeated, on the 
5th of May, 1862, by the Mexican troops under General 
Zaragoza. This date, so important in Mexican history, is 
annually set aside for national celebration, and nearly 
every city has a street named Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) . 
On the 17th of May, however, Puebla was captured by the 
French forces. On June 9 they entered Mexico City. 
A so-called Assembly of Notables was then called together 
and a declaration made that Mexico should be governed 
by a constitutional monarch and that a Catholic prince 
should be selected. At the suggestion of the French rep- 
resentatives, the throne was offered to Maximilian, Arch- 
duke of Austria, who was also a representative of the ruling 
house of Spain. Maximilian accepted the throne on con- 
dition that he should be elected by popular vote, and that 
the Emperor Napoleon should give him military aid as 
long as it was necessary. He arrived in Mexico City 
June 12, 1864, with his wife Carlotta, daughter of Leopold 
I, King of the Belgians. 

After his accession, Maximilian aroused the opposition 
of the clerical party by enforcing the laws of church reform. 
Juarez, in the meantime, had crossed the border into Texas, 
and from there continued to direct the movement for 
driving out Maximilian and the French. Maximilian, at 
this time, under the influence of Marshal Bazaine and other 
evil counsellors, made a fatal mistake. He issued a decree 
declaring the civil war at an end, and that all persons in 



84 i>iEXico 

arms would be treated as bandits and shot when captured. 
The execution of the Liberal generals, Arteago, Salazar, 
Villagomez and Felix Diaz followed. At this time the 
Civil War in the United States was drawing to a close, and 
the American government, regarding the French aggression 
in Mexico as a serious breach of the Monroe doctrine, in- 
formed Napoleon III that the United States would not 
tolerate the establishment of a monarchy on the western 
continent. On receipt of this note. Napoleon abandoned 
Maximilian and recalled the French forces in November, 
1866. The collapse of the empire speedily followed. As 
soon as the French left. President Juarez entered Mexico, 
gathered his forces and marched southward. He defeated 
Maximilian's general, Miramon, who retreated toQueretaro, 
where he was joined by the emperor. In the meantime, 
General Porfirio Diaz, who commanded the republican 
forces in the south, had captured Puebla, defeated Maxi- 
milian's troops in several battles and had commenced 
the siege of Mexico City. After a siege of several weeks, 
Juarez captured Queretaro. Maximilian and his generals, 
Miramon and Mejia, were tried by court-martial on charges 
of filibustering, of treason and of issuing the decree of 
October 3, 1865, under which the Liberal generals had been 
executed. Senor Riva Palacio, the emperor's counsel, 
and other distinguished lawyers, defended Maximilian, but 
without success. The emperor and the two generals were 
found guilty and sentenced to death. 

After the trial, Senor Riva Palacio went to the neighbor- 
ing city of San Luis Potosi to plead with President Juarez 
for a modification of the sentence, and Princess Salm Salm 
rode across the country one hundred and twenty miles on 
the same errand. Although personally inclined to show 
mercy, Juarez considered it necessary to strike a decisive 
blow for the maintenance of the Republic. A protest from 



MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT 85 

the United States government was received, but that was 
of no avail. Maximihan sent in an appeal on behalf of his 
companions, but this met with no better success. On the 
morning of June 19, 1867, the emperor and his two generals 
were shot on the hill outside Queretaro. Carlotta, his un- 
fortunate consort, who was in Europe at the time, had en- 
deavored in vain to get the Emperor Napoleon to send 
another army to rescue her husband, and had also pleaded 
with the Pope without success. Grieving over Maximilian's 
death eventually shattered her mind. The story is one of 
the most pitiful in modern history. 

A few days after Maximilian's execution. General Diaz 
captured Mexico City, and President Juarez returned to the 
capital after an absence of five years to reestablish his 
government. He died in 1872, and after a brief revolution 
in 1876, General Diaz became President, and has served 
almost continuously since that time. 



CHAPTER V 

THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 

Every capital has its great central point from which 
radiates the hfe of the city — in London, for example, the 
Bank of England, in Paris the Opera House, and in Berhn 
the Unter den Linden, In Mexico City everything starts 
from the Plaza Mayor or main plaza, a great public space 
larger than the Capitol square in Washington, which is the 
true heart of the city. Here it was that the city first began, 
from it start some of the principal streets, and it is the 
oldest and in many respects the most interesting part of 
the Mexican capital. To some extent it resembles the Isle 
de la Cite in Paris ; for in Aztec times it was entirely sur- 
rounded by water, and here stood the temples and palaces 
which the Spaniards destroyed, replacing them with the 
cathedral and various public buildings. In the great plaza 
the life of the city had its centre in early Spanish times, 
the market and the principal shops were here, and it was the 
public promenade and place of recreation. To-day, with 
its quaint, time-worn buildings and its memories of the 
past, it has suffered a modern invasion in the shape of the 
street-cars which start from it. I felt a curious impression 
of this juxtaposition of the modern and the mediaeval as 
I stood beneath the giant walls of the sixteenth-century 
cathedral and listened to the persistent clanging of the 
street-car gongs. 

For there is one feature which dominates the plaza and 
vividly recalls the days when Spain was a mighty world- 

86 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 87 

empire and Queen Elizabeth ruled the destinies of England. 
That feature is the great cathedral built on the site of the 
wonderful teocalli or temple, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, 
the Aztec War-god and patron deity of the ancient city. 
Here in the temple centre stood the famous Stone of Sacri- 
fice, upon which tens of thousands of human victims were 
slaughtered, their breasts sliced open with obsidian knives, 
their hearts torn out and burned in the holy of holies in 
honor of the terrible deity. Close at hand were the palaces 
of the Emperor Montezuma. 

It was typical of the splendid arrogance of the Catholic 
conquerors that Cortes should have seized upon the theatri- 
cal idea of building his great stone apotheosis of his faith 
on a site reeking with memories of pagan foulness. It was 
in 1573, in the reign of Philip II, that the first stone of the 
great church was laid. The soil was of such a marshy 
nature that the builders had great difficulties with which to 
contend. These indeed were so enormous that after nearly 
fifty years the walls had only been built twenty feet above 
the ground. Philip III, on hearing of the slowness of the 
work initiated by his father, had new plans drawn up and 
lavishly subsidized the undertaking. 

The principal sacristy was finished in 1623; the vaults 
in the middle nave were complete about the middle of the 
seventeenth century, and in 1667 the interior was so far 
advanced that an inaugural service was possible. The 
choir, however, was not complete till 1730, and thus the 
great church had been building nearly two centuries. The 
whole cost was nearly three million dollars; but that rep- 
resents only a fraction of the money lavished on the 
greatest Catholic fane in the New World, if those who 
toiled had been paid fair wages and the material had not 
been commandeered. 

From north to south the vast edifice is more than four 



88 MEXICO 

hundred feet long, the interior measuring three hundred and 
eighty-seven feet, while the height from floor to roof is 
one hundred and seventy-nine feet. The towers are two 
hundred and forty feet high. The material used is a lime- 
stone of a dark cream tint. Over the whole is a superb 
dome. The architecture in the main is Gothic, with a 
lavish use of Doric and Corinthian pilasters. But it is in 
the interior of the cathedral that one realizes the amount 
of money which has been lavished on the adornment of the 
great church. The ornamentation of the high altar is said 
to be worth the almost fabulous sum of a million and a half 
of dollars. The lamp hanging before the sanctuary is 
said to have cost $80,000, while the tabernacle of massive 
silver is valued at over $150,000. The whole place gives 
one an impression of glittering gold and gems, a treasure- 
house of an ecclesiastical Croesus. 

There are fourteen chapels in the cathedral, each pro- 
fusely decorated and gilded. Under the altar of one of 
them are interred the heads of the patriots Hidalgo, Allende, 
Aldama and Jiminez, who led the first revolution against 
Spanish rule and were executed at Guanajuato. After 
the Spaniards had been finally driven from Mexico, the 
heads were brought in great state and pomp to the cathe- 
dral and buried where they rest to-day. In another chapel 
lie the remains of Augustin Iturbide, the first emperor of 
Mexico, known as The Liberator. It is also the tomb of 
several Spanish viceroys, as also of Gregorio Lopez, the 
Mexican ^^Man with the Iron Mask," alleged to have been 
a son of Philip II of Spain. 

The choir is surrounded with a high railing of richly 
carved woods, and is connected with the nave by a passage- 
way enclosed with balustrading of rich tumbago. In this 
instance the composite consists of a mixture of gold, silver 
and copper, and is so valuable that the offer of an American 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 89 

to replace the railing with one of solid silver was indignantly 
refused. 

It would seem that Catholic fervor in Mexico is on the 
decline, for save at the time of the services the devout of 
the upper classes are rarely seen in the cathedral, the 
whole building being given over to the poor. Walking 
through the aisles, one sees the blanketed Indians kneeling, 
sombrero in hand, at the altars, or on the worn stones of 
the chapels, often the Indian women at their sides. Here 
and there a whole Indian family can be seen in their tattered, 
flimsy clothing, making a touching picture as they remain 
in reverent contemplation of the figure of the Virgin or 
saint whose protection they invoke. As in other Latin 
countries, women form the bulk of the worshippers at all the 
services. Men of the wealthier class scarcely ever attend. 
In the early morning the women go to mass dressed in black, 
with the graceful lace mantilla generally draped over the 
head, half exposing the olive-brown faces and bright spar- 
kling eyes of the seiioritas. 

On the east side of the plaza, and facing the cathedral, 
is the National Palace. This is built on the site of Monte- 
zuma's second and greater palace, where Cortes built for 
himself a mansion. In 1562 this latter building was sold 
by his descendants to the Spanish government, and for more 
than a hundred years it was the Viceregal residence, until 
in 1692 it was destroyed in a great riot. The present 
building was begun in the same year and finished in 1699. 
It is the official residence of the President, and contains 
the state apartments, the offices of some of the chief 
ministries, the Senate Chamber, the Record Office and 
the Treasury. 

The palace is a long, flat-roofed, gray stone, two-storied 
building in Spanish style, and while architecturally not 
remarkable, has a quaint, old-world picturesqueness all 



90 MEXICO 

its own; and it does not take a great stretch of the 
imagination to picture the eighteenth-century Spanish 
caballeros riding in and out of the courtyard. It has a 
frontage of six hundred and seventy-five feet, extends 
backwards proportionately and forms a large square. 
Outside the main entrance, dark-skinned Mexican sentries, 
with their blue uniforms and glazed leather kepis, march 
up and down with fixed bayonets on their rifles, and a group 
of officers and soldiers off duty can generally be seen. All 
this is in striking contrast for the visitor who comes direct 
from the United States, where soldiers are never stationed 
at public buildings, and even the White House at Washing- 
ton is guarded by only a few policemen. 

The presidential apartments are magnificently furnished 
and decorated. Quite regal in its measurements is the 
H^ll of Ambassadors, stretching the entire length of the 
palace, and lit by large windows looking out upon the 
cathedral. Here the President formally welcomes state 
visitors and receives the accredited representatives of 
foreign governments on their arrival to take their oflicial 
posts. At these ceremonies the foreign ministers are pre- 
sented to the President by an official entitled the Introducer 
of Ambassadors. At the south end of the chamber is a 
dais set with chairs in a half circle, where President Diaz 
sits surrounded by his cabinet ministers. The walls are 
hung with portraits, including those of George Washington, 
Benito Juarez, Iturbide, the generals Guerrero and Morelos, 
and President Diaz. 

Over the main entrance to the Palace is hung the Liberty 
Bell of Mexico, which was rung by Father Hidalgo in 1810 
in the village of Dolores, to call the people to arms in the 
first struggle for independence. This relic was brought to 
the capital in 1896, and on the night of the fifteenth of 
September each year is rung with great ceremony by the 



■ i • 


1 


s 





THE MEXICAN NATIONAL PALACE. 




Copyright by The Detroit Photo Co. 

PYRAMID OF THE MOON. 
(See page 107.) 



' THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 91 

President of Mexico, in the presence of an immense gather- 
ing. Just above the Liberty Bell is a clock which was exiled 
from the church of a small Spanish town because it was 
supposed to be bewitched, having struck the hours out of 
order. Although the National Palace is the President's 
official residence, he does not live there, but in a compara- 
tively small house in the Cadena, a thoroughfare running 
off the Plaza, whence he comes, often on horseback, and 
always without any escort, to his daily work. 

The National Museum has a wing of the Palace devoted 
to it. Here there is a splendid collection of Mexican antiq- 
uities, idols from temples, ornaments from palaces, jewels, 
arms, shields and utensils of the Toltecs and Aztecs, with 
some few of the Aztec picture-writings, which were saved 
from the bigotry of the monks. There are also portraits 
of the great characters in Mexico's history since the Con- 
quest. Among the most interesting exhibits are the arms 
and armor of the early Spanish invaders, some of their 
standards, a fine portrait of Cortes, oil paintings portraying 
the baptism of Mexican Indians by the first missionaries, 
and a collection of the weapons, head-dresses and costumes 
of the Aztec warriors. Near the entrance is the great 
Stone of Sacrifice which formed the entire altar of the Tem- 
ple of the Sun, which stood but a few feet from the site of 
the museum. It is circular, very elaborately carved, the 
figures on the rim showing the Aztec priests dragging their 
victims by the hair to the scene of sacrifice to be offered to 
the Sun-god. At the Conquest the stone was buried by 
Spanish priests and was not rediscovered until 1791, when 
some drainage excavations were being made near the 
cathedral. Near by is a grim and hideous relic of the terrible 
Huitzilopochth, the Aztec War-god, an elaborately carved 
block of stone representing the ferocious face of the deity, 
with snakes' teeth and a fringe of snakes' heads depending 



92 MEXICO 

as a breast ornament. At the base of the figure, the feet 
are in the form of a slab, upon which it is beheved the still 
palpitating hearts of the slaughtered victims were placed 
as an offering. 

In the same gallery is the Aztec Calendar Stone, a stone 
circle of twelve feet in diameter and weighing 53,790 pounds. 
This huge monolith, which was originally embedded in the 
walls of the great Temple, is elaborately carved with what 
appears to be calendar divisions. Many efforts have been 
made to decipher the carvings. Perhaps one of the most 
interesting is that of Mr. W. W. Blake of Mexico City, who 
sees in the second large circle four parallelograms indicat- 
ing, in Aztec mythology, that the sun had died four times. 
These epochs or ages were, Mr. Blake thinks, the Age of 
Air, the Age of Water, the Age of Fire and the Age of 
Earth, and he thus interprets them: the Age of Air was 
the glacial epoch, representing the Aztec traditions of the 
ice lands to the north, from which their forefathers came; 
the Age of Water was the time of the submersion of the 
continent of Atlantis; the Age of Fire was the period 
marked by the eruptions of the volcanoes and accompany- 
ing earthquakes. Finally is the Age of the Earth, which 
began 4431 years before Christ and ended 1312 a.d. This 
Calendar Stone, like the Stone of Sacrifice, was buried in 
the Plaza, and was only imearthed in 1790. According 
to tradition, both of them were quarried near Coyoacan in 
1478, over five thousand men being engaged in the work; 
they were then dragged over causeways on wooden rollers, 
crossing the canals on specially constructed bridges, and 
were thus transported to the great temple. It is said 
that this event was celebrated by the sacrifice of over seven 
hundred human beings. 

In the museum are many large and terrible Aztec idols 
from all parts of Mexico, some of them having a very marked 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 93 

likeness to Egyptian figures. This is especially true of the 
so-called figure of Chac-Mol, which was found by Dr. Le 
Plongeon at Chichen-Itza in Yucatan, and is supposed to 
represent the God of Fire. This figure is notable as having 
an almost perfect Egyptian head-dress. A statue of the 
Goddess of Water, excavated at Teotihuacan, near the 
Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, is more than eleven feet 
high and five feet wide, and weighs forty thousand pounds. 
The feathered serpent, a mythic figure of great prominence 
in Aztec carvings, is found all over Mexico. It is called 
Quetzalcoatl, and represents the Mexican myth of a white 
man with a long flowing beard, who taught the people 
religion and civilization, a religion which the early Spanish 
are said to have found very much like Christianity. Ac- 
cording to a Catholic legend, this mysterious teacher was 
one of the apostles, possibly St. Thomas. The Mexican 
government now claims all Aztec relics and superintends 
all excavations, jealously guarding the sites of the ancient 
cities. 

One of the galleries is devoted to pictures, chiefly the 
portraits of the Spanish viceroys of Mexico from the time 
of the Conquest to the declaration of independence. They 
are poor specimens of art for the most part; but they 
portray a picturesque lot of rulers and give one a very fair 
idea of those in whose hands the fate of so many human 
beings once rested. In another gallery are housed the 
state carriages of the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian and 
the Empress Carlotta, gorgeously decorated with gold and 
silver and emblazoned with the imperial arms. The 
silver-mounted harness is also there, and, in a burst of 
very unrepublican emperor-worship, is hung on the wall 
above a picture of a gorgeous footman, inscribed '' State 
footman of the Emperor Maximilian." It is all very 
pathetic, and the pathos is deepened by the object-lesson 



94 MEXICO 

in democratic simplicity which is given in the other corner 
of the room. There, in its cracked, old-fashioned, plain 
black leather, stands the carriage used by President Juarez, 
who overturned the empire and authorized the execution 
of Maximilian. 

Strange to say, most of the visitors to the museum are 
Indians of the working class, who can be seen walking 
through the galleries, gazing with solemn looks at the relics 
of the Aztecs, and discussing, in their own language, the 
achievements of their ancestors. The policemen on duty 
there, who are also of Indian descent, are very vigilant in en- 
forcing the official regulations, as I found to my astonish- 
ment one morning. I had gone to the museum at rather 
an early hour, when the place was almost deserted, and 
was strolling through one of the long galleries, when I 
heard a stern voice far in the rear, commanding me to halt. 
I turned and saw a policeman who was beckoning to me 
and saying, ^^Sefior, senor, regrese " (Come back, sir). Re- 
turning to the entrance door where he was stationed, I 
asked him what he wanted, whereupon he simply pointed 
to a placard inscribed, ^^A la dereche" (Keep to the right) ; 
and it then dawned on me that I had actually been keeping 
to the left. The rule, of course, was intended for enforce- 
ment only when the museum was crowded ; but the worthy 
policeman had evidently been told to keep people to the 
right, and he was determined to do it whether there ^ was 
one visitor or ten thousand. Apologizing to him for my 
disgraceful violation of the rules, I resumed my walk, taking 
great care to keep to the right. 

On the west side of the Plaza is the National Pawn-shop 
or Monte de Piedad, which was founded as a charity, but 
which is now managed in much the same way as the French 
Montes de Piete. Similar establishments exist in most 
of the larger Mexican cities, enabling the poor to obtain 




THE AZTEC CALENDAR STONE. 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 95 

loans on pledges at a very reasonable rate of interest, and 
thus rescuing them from the merciless usurers. The Monte 
opens every afternoon for the sale of unredeemed pledges. 
Tourists are said to pick up great bargains in jewellery, his- 
torical relics and curios of all sorts. While I was in the 
city, an American bought from a curio dealer what was 
alleged to be the ivory and gold-mounted cigar case of the 
Emperor Maximilian, and ten ivory napkin-rings bearing 
the imperial arms. These were sold for ten dollars. If 
they were genuine, it is possible that they had come into the 
bric-a-brac dealer's hands at one of the daily sales at the 
Monte de Piedad. No Mexican would have bought them, 
as they are all very superstitious, and believe that any- 
thing that belonged to Maximilian brings bad luck. 

Not far from the National Palace is the so-called Volador 
or Thieves' Market, where dishonestly acquired goods of 
every description are offered for sale by a picturesque 
crowd of ragged vendors. Most of the things offered are 
believed to have been stolen, and prices rule low, great 
bargains being sometimes obtainable. Valuable books, 
old gold and silverware, relics of all kinds, even old paint- 
ings, are displayed for sale. Some years ago a Murillo is 
said to have been bought here for five dollars. A prettier 
sight is the Flower Market, which is also close to the cathe- 
dral, and in the morning presents a beautiful scene, with 
its wealth of carnations, violets and roses. The flowers 
are delightfully cheap, and mammoth bunches of double 
violets — all you can carry — can be had for fifty cents, 
and heaps of roses, even in midwinter. 

A picturesque row of buildings on one side of the Plaza 
have their lower stories in the form of arcades or portales, 
which, as already noted, form a distinctive feature of the 
plazas in all Mexican towns. Supported by columns, they 
extend over the sidewalk and furnish a grateful shade on 



96 MEXICO 

a hot day. Under the port ales there are some of the most 
attractive stores in the city, and they are also a refuge for 
various itinerant vendors who sell dulces, fruit, trinkets 
and other small wares. The portales and the two-storied 
buildings connected with them have a very old look, and 
date perhaps from the sixteen hundreds. 

I imagine that the Plaza has altered very little during 
the past two hundred years, and to me it seemed to be 
the most romantic spot in the capital. Spanish officers in 
doublet and hose and feathered bonnet must once have 
strolled about there discussing the latest news, perhaps 
cursing that English terror of the seas, Francis Drake, 
whose capture of treasure-laden galleons so often caused 
consternation in Mexico. The very stones that one treads 
on to-day have probably echoed to the feet of the victims 
of the Inquisition, as they marched in sad procession from 
their place of trial (the old Inquisition building erected in 
1571, close to the Plaza, and now used as a medical in- 
stitution) to the bonfires of the auto-da-fe in the Alameda. 
Threading their pompous way beneath the shadow of the 
great cathedral, the Spanish viceroys, with silken canopies 
of state held above them by Indian slaves, have ridden 
on marvellously caparisoned steeds, surrounded by regal 
grandeur, into the old palace courtyard. 

A large building in the Plaza is the Mexican equivalent 
of an American city hall, as it is the official residence of the 
city's administrators, and it also contains the offices of the 
principal city departments. The government of Mexico 
City, it may be added, differs entirely from that of other 
Mexican cities, the capital and various small towns sur- 
rounding it being situated in what is called the Federal 
District, corresponding to our own District of Columbia. 
It is regarded as neutral ground, as the National Congress 
is held in the capital ; and on this account the government 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 97 

of the district is in the hands of the federal authorities. 
The government is represented by three officials appointed 
by the President — the Governor (who is practically the 
mayor) ^ the President of the Superior Board of Health, and 
the Director of Public Works. Their power is supreme, and 
all departments are under their control. The system has 
worked wonderfully well, and it is perhaps due to the direc- 
tion of affairs being left entirely to these three officials 
that public improvements are carried out so quickly in 
Mexico City. Even the most casual observer cannot fail 
to be impressed by the fact that the capital is remarkably 
well governed. 

In the centre of the Plaza is a small park called the 
Zocalo, planted with trees and flowers, where a regimental 
band plays several times a week. From the Zocalo the 
electric cars run to all parts of the city and to the principal 
suburbs. It is strange to see these prosaic American cars 
labelled with such queer Aztec names as Coyoacan, Tlapan, 
Tlalnepantla, Atzacapotzalco, all suburban places. 

Mexican street-cars, by the way, are divided into first 
and second class, but they run singly, the first class being 
painted buff, the second class green. The latter are always 
crowded with evil-smelling peons. 

First-class fares are from three to ten cents, according 
to the distance travelled. The second class are a few cen- 
tavos cheaper. Private cars, well fitted up, can be hired 
for parties, and freight-cars and cattle trucks are also 
run. One afternoon President Diaz and his cabinet went 
out to some suburban festival in a sumptuous special car. 

Except in the cases of the wealthy, the street-cars are 
always used for funerals, a special car painted black being 
employed. Every day, and almost every hour of the day, 
you can see the funeral cars running out to the suburban 
cemeteries. The hearse-car, elaborately draped with black 



98 MEXICO 

cloth, and surmounted by plumes and a cross, with a raised 
dais for the coffin, goes first ; and then come two ordinary 
cars of solemn black for the mourners. This funeral train 
is only for the well-to-do. For the poor there is a car 
completely closed, with doors at the back, and fitted with 
shelves upon which the coffins are stacked. Attached to 
this is a second-class car, painted black, and inscribed 
^'Funebre," in which relatives and friends ride to the 
cemetery. 

Mexico City abounds in spots which, like the Plaza, have 
romantic or historical associations. For instance, a street 
corner called Salte de Alvarado marks the place where 
Alvarado, the lieutenant of Cortes, leaped across the canal, 
using his lance as a leaping-pole, when escaping from the 
Aztecs on the night of the flight from the city. Close to 
the Zocalo is the site of the house in which was established 
the first printing-press of the New World, in 1535, more 
than a century before one was employed in the English 
colonies. Prior to 1550, a dozen books or so, chiefly re- 
ligious, had been printed. The first, bearing date 1536, 
was called '^Escala espiritual parallegar al Cielo, Traducido 
del Latin en Castellano por el Venerable Padre Fr. Ivan 
de la Madelina, Peligioso Dominico, 1536 " (The Spiritual 
Ladder for Reaching Heaven, Translated from Latin 
into Spanish by Father Ivan, Dominican). It was here 
that the first music in the New World was printed in the old 
illuminated style, as also was the first wood-engraving cut. 
During the seventeenth century, Mexico City was regarded 
as a great seat of learning; but even before the spacious 
times of Queen Elizabeth, literature had its beginnings in 
the Mexican capital. 

In FeHpe de Jesus Street there is still standing the house 
in which the first Mexican saint, San Felipe, was born in 
1572. His father was a Spanish merchant, who carried on 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 99 

extensive trade between Mexico and the Philippine Islands 
in slow-sailing galleons. After a wild youth, Felipe was 
converted, became a Franciscan monk, and for many 
years was a missionary, until at last he found a martyr's 
death in Japan. A generation later he was canonized, and 
became the patron saint of Mexico City. In the patio 
of the house there is an old fig tree to which a beautiful 
tradition attaches. Felipe, despite his wild youth, used 
to tell his mother that he would die a saint. She said that 
would come to pass when the fig tree in the garden bore 
figs. The fig tree was then dry and barren. Years after- 
wards, when Felipe won a martyr's crown, the fig tree be- 
came, in a moment, green and healthy, and was loaded with 
luscious fruit, though it was not the bearing season. 

At different points in the city are the ruins of the aque- 
duct of brick and stone which was completed in 1779. It 
brought water to the city from a spring at Chapultepec, 
and ended at a beautiful fountain called el Salto de Agua, 
still preserved. The water supply of the capital is now 
so up-to-date that it has almost done away with the neces- 
sity for one of the most picturesque street types, namely, the 
aguadores or water-carriers, bending under the weight of 
huge earthen pots in which they carried the precious liquid 
from door to door. 

If Mexico City had no other claim to be ranked among 
the finest cities of the world, she could complacently base 
her pretensions upon the Paseo de la Reforma, the great 
drive which leads from the end of the Avenida Juarez for 
two and a half miles to the park and castle of Chapultepec. 
It is safe to say that there is no finer thoroughfare than 
this in the world. Fringed by a double avenue of trees, 
chiefly eucalyptus, surrounded by trim lawns and flower 
beds and lined with really fine houses, standing in beauti- 
ful grounds, the homes of Mexico's wealthiest families, 



100 MEXICO 

the whole arrangement, with a double roadway, recalls the 
beauties of the Champs Ely sees. At intervals the Paseo 
widens into circles, which are called glorietas, and in several 
of these there are some really fine statues. The bronze 
equestrian statue of Charles IV, which centres the glori- 
eta at the city end of the Paseo, was set up in 1803, and 
is a very striking work of art. Its sculptor was Manuel 
Telsa, a Spaniard. In another glorieta is the Columbus 
statue by Cordier, a fine piece of carving. On the base are 
represented historical scenes, beautifully sculptured, and 
the whole is surmounted by a figure of Columbus drawing 
aside the veil which hides the New World. 

But the most remarkable monument is that by Fran- 
cisco Jiminez, which honors the memory of Cuauhtemoc 
or Guatemotzin, the nephew of Montezuma, the last Aztec 
king. The Indians still revere his memory, and annually 
honor it by a festival, on which occasion the monument is 
decorated with wreaths and flowers. Scenes from the life 
of the prince, and his torture by Cortes, are worked in bronze 
on the four sides of the base ; on the plinth stands an ideal 
statue of the heroic warrior in war costume, a spear poised 
in his hand. It is worth noticing that while this worthy 
memorial has a place of honor in the city which has suc- 
ceeded the Aztec Tenochtitlan, there is not among the public 
monuments even a bust of the cruel and bigoted Spaniard, 
torturer and murderer of the brave Aztec prince. 

It was during the empire of Maximilian that the Paseo 
was laid out, and it at once became the fashionable drive 
of the capital. Here, in the afternoons, but more particu- 
larly on Sundays and feast-days, there is a wonderful dis- 
play of carriages and horses. The procession passes up one 
side and down the other, while police duties in directing 
traffic are performed by the picturesque Republican Guard, 
mounted on the wiry Mexican ponies, and armed to the 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 101 

teeth with sword, Winchester rifle and revolver. But there 
is no need for this heavy armament, for the whole scene 
is one of gayety and good temper. The people have come 
out to enjoy themselves, and very happily and brightly they 
do so. 

At the end of the Paseo, occupying much the same 
position as the Arc de Triomphe does in the Champs Elysees, 
is the Castle of Chapultepec. It stands on a high bluff of 
volcanic origin, on the scarred face of which are carved 
some ancient hieroglyphics. In Aztec, Chapultepec means 
^'The Hill of the Grasshopper," and it was on the hill that 
Montezuma had his summer palace. The castle, which 
architecturally hardly comes up to its name, having a 
striking resemblance to some huge sanitarium, is a vast, 
rambling building which was designed as a viceregal resi- 
dence and completed in 1785. It has, however, been much 
enlarged and altered since that date. Maximilian was 
responsible for the decoration of the castle, and for the 
planning out of the beautiful gardens in which it stands. 
With the exception of two chairs, which are traditionally 
believed to have been used by Cortes, all the old furniture 
has disappeared, and there is no trace of the short-lived 
empire, everything bearing the monogram, "R. M." (Re- 
publica Mexicana). The President resides at the castle 
for only a month or two in the summer, and occupies one 
of the wings, which has been specially furnished for him 
and his family. Sometimes official visitors of great dis- 
tinction are entertained there and allotted apartments 
during their stay in the city. 

From the castle terrace, which looks down upon the 
sweep of the Paseo, and over the tree-tops towards the 
capital, there is one of the most magnificent views in 
the world. The eye takes in the marvellous panorama of 
the vast plain studded with towns and hamlets, centred 



102 MEXICO 

with the ghttering white of church tower and housetop 
in the city itself, and ringed round with the distant hills 
shrouded in a purple mist. Beyond these are the great 
snow-capped volcanic peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtacci- 
huatl, which tower above the lesser mountains and domi- 
nate the horizon. 

In a wing of the castle is the Mexican military college, 
conducted somewhat after the fashion of West Point. 
Here the sons of the best Mexican families receive a military 
education. They are a fine-looking set of young men, 
wearing a uniform a good deal like that of the French 
military schools. When the Americans took the castle 
in the war of 1847, the cadets assisted in the defence, and 
a large number of them fell. A modest monument to the 
memory of these young heroes stands at the foot of the hill, 
and on this fresh flowers are placed every morning. 

The castle is surrounded by a beautiful park called the 
Bosque, very much like the Bois de Boulogne, with miles 
of shady walks and drives, under semi-tropical groves of 
tree-ferns and palms, and above them is the foliage of some 
fine oaks and wonderful cypresses. Of the latter there is 
an ancient avenue, centuries old, from the boughs of which 
Spanish moss hangs in graceful fringes. Beneath the shade 
of these giant trees Montezuma is said to have held his 
court, and here, too, the news was brought to him of the 
Spanish invasion. Near the hill is a large stone basin into 
which a spring drains. This, tradition — probably very 
inaccurate — declares to have been Montezuma's bath. In 
later days it has been used as a water supply for the city. 

Not far from Chapultepec, on one side of the Paseo, an 
enterprising American company has started what is called 
Luna Park, an imitation of the famous New York seaside 
resort. Coney Island. Here there is a huge Ferris wheel, 
a switchback railway, shows of every description and a 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 103 

circus. President Diaz, in his apartments in the castle, 
can probably hear the revels of Luna- Park. 

Also near the castle is the Chapultepec Cafe, a fashionable 
rendezvous, where one can get an excellent meal, served in 
French style, or if not hungry, can sit outside at a little 
marble-topped table, and watch the carriages while sipping 
the ever popular Mexican lager beer. It is here that all 
the cosmopolitan inhabitants of the capital gather on a fine 
Sunday afternoon, and almost every European language 
can then be heard. Almost as many carriages assemble 
in the Paseo on Sundays as one can see in the Bois, and 
a visitor can gain a very fair idea of the wealth and beauty 
of the capital. 

For the most part, the carriages are open barouches, 
landaus and Victorias of the latest European makes, and 
drawn by the Spanish- Arab type of horse, which, with their 
curving necks, their glossy silken coats and sweeping tails, 
make a wonderful picture in the sunshine. The coachmen 
and footmen are dressed in liveries correct even to the cock- 
ades, though many of the old-fashioned Mexican families 
still favor the native serving dress, tight trousers edged 
with gold buttons, short bolero coat, heavily braided, and 
an enormous felt sombrero. Most of the carriages are 
tenanted by dark-eyed Mexican beauties. The men either 
drive dog-carts in English style, or ride on a row which 
runs parallel with the carriage road round the park. There 
are many smart automobiles to be seen, too, and there is 
also a large mixture of humbler conveyances, with dozens 
of blue-flagged cabs filled with men, women and children. 

It is said that some Mexicans of good birth but of much 
straitened means, who find it hard to keep up appear- 
ances, send out their carriages with blue flags half the week, 
and thus earn their keep as cabs. Many poorer citizens, 
such as clerks, deny themselves every luxury to take this 



104 MEXICO 

drive with their families on Sunday, and squander all their 
spare money on it. 

The paths of the Paseo are filled with all sorts of people, 
well-dressed Mexicans, Europeans and Americans, residents 
and tourists, also people of the poorer classes, including 
numbers of Indians, men and women, in their blankets and 
rebosas. Groups of Mexican ^^ mashers" stand on the edge 
of the walks, criticising the fair occupants of the carriages 
and seeking to attract their bewitching eyes. The Mexican 
masher, it may be added, is called a lagartijo (pronounced 
lah-ahr-tee-ho) , meaning ^^ little lizard," because he basks 
lazily in the sun at the street corner to ogle the fair sex. 

He usually wears a French morning coat and trousers, 
American patent leather shoes, with pointed toes, and an 
English top hat, and in his fingers is the inevitable cigarette. 

During the afternoon excellent music is played by the 
band of the Republican Guard stationed near the Cafe, 
where towards the evening hours the scene becomes won- 
derfully animated, with the moving procession of vehicles 
and the hundreds of pedestrians. In the far distance are 
the blue mountains, sharply silhouetted against the clear 
sky, which in the fading light takes on varied tints under 
the rays of the setting sun. As the twilight comes, the 
whole scene suggests a piece of illuminated fairyland; 
the carriage lights flit, in the growing darkness, among the 
trees like fireflies; the electric lamps flash out along the 
Paseo; in the distance the sky glows with the lights of 
the capital; and as the leaves of the trees idly stir in the 
evening breeze, the band strikes up the stirring Mexican 
National Anthem, and the pleasant hours at Chapultepec 
come to an end. 

On week-days, from six to seven, a procession of carriages 
drives up and down San Francisco Street in an endless chain, 
going down one side and returning on the other, the occu- 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 105 

pants sitting up very straight and solemn, looking as if 
they were taking part in a most serious function. Some of 
the automobiles are quite imposing. I saw one gorgeous 
car in which a wealthy Mexican and his family were riding. 
The chauffeur was dressed in the height of motor style, 
and in the rear, with folded arms, sat two French footmen, 
resplendent in black attire, top-hats and white gloves. 

Riding and promenading are not the only recreations 
enjoyed by the people of Mexico City on Sunday afternoons, 
for thousands flock to the ever popular bull-fights, which 
are held in the Plaza de Toros or Bull-ring, not far from 
Chapultepec. On Sundays the street-cars which run in the 
direction of Chapultepec all bear a great label, ^^ Toros " 
(Bulls), and are packed with people. 

The Plaza de Toros is a huge circular building of stone 
and wood, with an interior that forms an immense amphi- 
theatre, seating thousands of people. Rising to the top, 
where the private boxes are situated, are tiers of seats, 
and as there is no roof except over the outer circle shading 
the boxes, there is a shady side called ^^Sombra," and a 
sunny side, ^'Sol,'' with prices varying from ten to twenty- 
five cents in the sun, and from fifty cents to a dollar and a 
half in the shade. 

Bull-fights or corridas de toros are conducted in much 
the same way as in Spain, and have been too often de- 
scribed to need repetition. In Mexico, however, the 
spectators never seem satisfied unless several horses are 
killed. The picadors, who carry pikes with which they 
prod and torture the bull, are mounted on old hacks and 
seem to purposely get in the way of the enraged animal. 
Their horses get gored terribly, and are kept on their feet 
as long as they can stand, streaming with blood. When- 
ever they drop dead, other poor hacks are brought in to 
take their places, the spectators sometimes shouting, "Otro 



106 MEXICO 

caballo" (Another horse). The bulls are of Spanish breed, 
with huge horns, some of them imported from Spain, and 
some of them bred locally. 

I went to the bull-ring one Sunday afternoon and saw 
six bulls killed. During the fight, several horses were gored 
and despatched, until the whole place reeked with blood 
like a shambles. The fight had been well advertised in 
the newspapers, and the public were invited to see the 
butchery of ^'six terrible bulls, unusually fierce — the 
greatest fight on record." Most of the bulls were very 
mild specimens, and submitted to being killed without much 
of a fight. One of them turned tail and fled, leaping over 
the fence at the entrance to the ring. The spectators were 
furious, and shouted all sorts of uncomplimentary remarks 
about the management. One man yelled, '^ Where are 
the fierce bulls advertised in the Imparcialf^' to which the 
^^sol" or the '^gallery gods" responded with hooting and 
groans. All through the fight, the matadors and toreadors 
were greeted with shouts of praise or denunciation whenever 
they made a good coup or a bad mistake. 

Most of the toreadors come from Spain, and as they get 
from SIOOO to $2500 for each performance many of them 
are quite wealthy. The toreadors are lionized by the 
lower classes in much the same way as prize-fighters are in 
England and America. A popular toreador of Mexican 
birth is a millionaire amateur who goes into the ring just 
for the pure love of the sport. * 

As a rule, the Mexican upper classes do not visit the 
bull-ring, and the President is never seen at a fight. As a 
matter of fact, he and Madam Diaz would like to see the 
sport abolished, but even the all-powerful Diaz cannot 
carry his point in this instance. The people adore the 
pastime, and the Mexican small boy plays at bull-fighting 
as the American boy does at baseball. 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 107 

Suburban life is yearly becoming more popular with 
people in Mexico City, and there are several Mexican equiv- 
alents of our New Jersey suburban towns, where well-to-do 
citizens have their homes. Most of these places are old 
towns and villages adjacent to the city, and easily reached 
by the electric street-cars. One of the prettiest suburban 
towns is Tacubaya, which abounds in beautiful parks, 
gardens and shady streets filled with flowers and fine trees. 
Tacubaya lies on the hills back of Chapultepec, and was once 
as infamous for gambling as Monte Carlo. The streets 
were filled with gambling booths where every sort of game 
of chance was played, and any one could wager from five 
cents to a dollar ; while in the gambling houses there would 
sometimes be $20,000 or 130,000 on the table at once. To- 
day all is changed. Tacubaya is now a model of respecta- 
bility, and gambling, if indulged in, has to be carried on far 
more privately. 

Twenty minutes' ride in a street-car took me, one after- 
noon, to Popotla, where still stands the tree of la Noche 
Triste (the Sorrowful Night), under which Cortes is said 
to have wept on the night of his defeat by the Aztecs 
(July 1, 1520). The tree, a cypress, gnarled and withered 
by the hand of time, is enclosed by a high iron fence to 
guard it from souvenir hunters. Some years ago, an Indian 
fanatic lit a fire at the foot of the tree with the purpose of 
burning it down, but it was fortunately discovered before 
much damage was done. 

The country round Mexico City abounds in mementos 
of the mysterious races which once inhabited the country, 
and there is hardly a district that does not contain the 
remains of once imposing temples, palaces or tombs. 
Among the most important of these are the Pyramids of 
the Sun and Moon, which are situated near the village of 
San Juan Teotihuacan, twenty-seven miles from the city, 



108 MEXICO 

and reached by the Mexican Central Railway. The village 
marks the site of a famous Toltec city, and some wonderful 
structures raised by the Toltecs are said to have been stand- 
ing there at the time of the Spanish Conquest, but were sub- 
sequently reduced to ruins. Teotihuacan means ''City of 
the Gods/' and the ancient city may have been a holy 
place or city of temples. There is a great difference of 
opinion as to whether the Toltecs or some race that pre- 
ceded them built the pyramids and erected various great 
structures near to them, the ruins of which still exist. 
Some archeologists assert, however, that they are as old 
as the ancient works of Egypt and India. 

In company with an American friend, I went out one 
day to see the pyramids, which stand in the midst of a great 
plain. Surrounding them in all directions there are ruins 
of an ancient city with fortifications and walls, one of the 
latter measuring 200 feet in width. The Pyramid of the Sun 
is 216 feet high, the base 751 feet by 721, while the top is 59 
by 105 ; the Moon Pyramid is somewhat smaller. Both are 
supposed to have served as bases for temples which stood 
on their summits. In their interior construction a mixture 
of clay and volcanic pebbles was used, over which was laid 
a facing of light porous stone, and this, in turn, thickly 
coated with white stucco. But with the progress of time 
they have lost their original appearance, and now resemble 
earthen mounds. At the time of the Conquest, a temple 
stood on the larger pyramid, having a colossal statue of 
the sun made of a single block of stone. In a hollow in 
the centre of this there was a planet of fine gold. The 
temple and the figure of the sun were destroyed by the 
Spaniards, who also seized the gold. 

There are several smaller pyramids or mounds on the 
plain, some of which have been excavated, revealing in at 
least one case chambers with frescoed walls. It has been 



THE SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL 109 

suggested that they were shrines attached to the greater 
temples. The frescoes, cornices and walls were colored in 
ten or twenty different shades or tints. In the Moon 
Pyramid, some years back, a passage was discovered, the 
walls of which were of cut stone carefully orientated. 

The Indians who live about Teotihuacan have some 
queer ideas concerning the ruins, and firmly believe that the 
pyramids were built by giants. Most of them are con- 
vinced that treasure is buried somewhere among the crum- 
bling walls ; and they can sometimes be seen prowling about 
the ancient stonework as if in search of this mythical gold. 
Occasionally, as I discovered, their ideas of wealth are on 
a much humbler basis. As we were examining the rugged 
sides of the Moon Pyramid, we suddenly came upon an 
Indian woman, wrapped in her faded rebosa, seated among 
the debris of ages, gazing pensively at a large stone on which 
there was some rude carving. '^Musing over the glories 
of her ancestors, poor soul,'' suggested my companion, and 
so it seemed. But the thoughts of this female descendant 
of the Aztecs were apparently of a different nature; for 
on catching sight of us, she hurried forward with out- 
stretched palm, and gave utterance to the words so con- 
stantly heard in Mexico, ''Solo un centavo, seiiores" (Only 
one penny, gentlemen). 

When contrasted with the present decadence of the 
Indian races in Mexico, the wonderful skill exhibited by 
the ancient builders in the construction of their temples 
and palaces seems all the more remarkable. Charnay, the 
French archeologist, who made a thorough exploration of 
the ruins of Tula and Teotihuacan, expresses deep admira- 
tion for their architectural designs. In his work, ''The 
Ancient Cities of the New World," he says : "Unlike most 
primitive nations, they used every material at once. They 
coated their inner walls with mud and mortar, faced their 



110 MEXICO 

outer walls with baked bricks and cut stone, had wooden 
roofs and brick and stone staircases. They were acquainted 
with pilasters and caryatides, with square and round 
columns; indeed, they seem to have been famihar with 
every architectural device. That they were painters and 
sculptors we had ample indications in a house that we un- 
earthed, where the walls were covered with rosettes, palms, 
and red, white and gray geometrical figures on a black 
ground." In several places the remains of irrigation works 
have been found, showing that the land was carefully 
cultivated in ancient times. 

A curious causeway named Calle de los Muertos (Street 
of the Dead) connects the Sun Pyramid with the Moon 
Pyramid ; and on either side of this is a terrace of cement 
and lava faced with mortar of high polish and brightly 
colored. Along this street many mounds have been opened, 
revealing chests of cut stone containing bones, ornaments 
of obsidian, earthen vases and miniature earthen masks. 
One theory is that these masks were portraits of the dead, 
buried in the same way as in the Egyptian tombs . Charnay , 
who collected a number of these masks, says: "Among 
them are types which do not seem to belong to America; 
a negro, whose thick lips, flat nose and woolly hair pro- 
claim his African origin; a Chinese head, Caucasian and 
Japanese specimens ; heads with retreating foreheads, and 
not a few with Greek profiles. The lower jaw is straight 
or projecting, the faces smooth or bearded; in short, it is 
a wonderful medley, indicative of the numerous races who 
succeeded each other and amalgamated on this continent, 
which until lately was supposed to be so new and is in truth 
so old." 



CHAPTER VI 



CHURCHES AND MIRACLES 



Mexico City, like London, possesses a number of old 
churches, many of which have been overtaken by the on- 
ward march of commerce, and find themselves to-day sur- 
rounded by prosaic stores and warehouses. Some of these 
old structures date from the early days of the Conquest; 
they give a touch of the picturesque to otherwise un- 
attractive streets; and their history, too, is often full of 
romantic interest. Few of them are architecturally beauti- 
ful, the outside usually being far more imposing than the 
interior. They are generally built of stone and stucco, 
painted with kalsomine or distemper, which has long ago 
faded into soft tints of pink, yellow or cream, giving them 
an appearance of great antiquity. 

One of these old churches, Jesus Nazareno, is famous 
for having been founded by Cortes shortly after his occupa- 
tion of the country. Large sums were lavished by him for 
this building, which was begun in 1575, and took nearly a 
hundred years to complete. Appropriately enough, the 
bones of the great Conquistador rested here. He had 
directed that should he die in Spain his bones were to be 
taken, after ten years, to Mexico and deposited in the 
Convent de, la Concepcion, which he proposed to erect, but 
never built. 

Cortes died on December 2, 1547, in Castilleja de la 
Questa, Spain. His body was placed in the tomb of the 
dukes of Medina Sidonia, and a decade later was removed 

111 



112 MEXICO 

to Mexico to the Church of San Francisco in Texcoco. 
There they remained until 1629, when Don Pedro Cortes, 
his grandson, and the last of the male line, died. The bones 
of the Conqueror, together with those of the latter, were 
with great ceremony placed in the Church of San Francisco 
in Mexico City. But even here they were not allowed to 
rest longer than 165 years, for in 1734 they were once more 
exhumed and interred in a splendid marble mausoleum in 
the church of Jesus Nazareno. This was their home for 
thirty years ; but during the War of Independence, when 
everything Spanish was hateful to the Mexicans, the coffin 
was secretly removed and hidden in another part of the 
church. Later it was sent to Spain, and found eventually 
a final resting-place in the tomb of the dukes of Monteleone 
in Italy. Thus the remains of this great Spaniard, after 
crossing the Atlantic twice and having been entombed once 
in the country of his birth and thrice in the country he 
conquered, found, at last, a final resting place in an alien 
land. 

The ancient-looking church of Nuestra Senora de los 
Angeles, which faces the Plaza de Zaragosa, about a mile 
from the Alameda, was founded in 1580 as the result of a 
strange miracle. During that year the city was inundated, 
and in the course of the flood an Aztec chieftain, Isayoque, 
discovered a picture of the Virgin floating in the water. 

He erected a chapel of adobe, and had a replica of the 
picture painted on the walls. Fifteen years afterwards 
a larger church was built over the mud-brick one, keeping 
intact the wall on which the picture was painted, in the 
design of which so many angels figured that the shrine 
was called ^^Our Lady of the Angels." In 1607 much 
damage was done to the church by another flood, and the 
picture was injured, but the face and hands were unhurt, 
an accident which was superstitiously magnified into a 



CHURCHES AND MIRACLES 113 

miracle. Two centuries later the present church was built, 
and the remains of the miraculous painting, covered with 
glass, are shown within. 

Not far from the Alameda there also stands the venerable 
church of San Hipolito, which marks the spot where the 
Spaniards were defeated and slaughtered by the Aztecs 
on the famous ''Sorrowful Night" during their retreat from 
the city. Then the place was occupied by a canal, but this 
dried up years ago. On the victorious return of the 
Spaniards on the feast-day of San Hipolito, August 13, 1521, 
a Spanish soldier, Juan Garrido, built a small chapel of adobe 
in memory of his fallen comrades. This was called San 
Hipolito of the Martyrs, and the name is still preserved. 
In 1599 a much larger church was begun, and completed 
in 1739. For many years on the 13th of each August 
the monks made processions to the church, bearing the 
crimson banner used by Cortes during the wars of the con- 
quest. On the church wall is the '' Sorrowful Night " me- 
morial tablet. Cut on the stone is an eagle, with an Indian 
in his claws, the rest of the design being composed of musical 
instruments, arrows, spears and trophies of the Aztecs. 

Another interesting church is that of Jesus Maria, founded 
in 1557 by two Spaniards, with the idea that the female 
descendants of the conquerors should take the veil. The 
convent was completed in 1580 and removed to its present 
site in 1582, when there came a nun who was alleged to be 
a daughter of Philip II of Spain, and a niece of the then 
Archbishop of Mexico. This story gains corroboration from 
the fact that the convent benefited largely by grants from 
the royal treasury of Spain and the viceregal exchequer of 
Mexico. 

Almost all these churches, and in fact most of those 
found throughout the temperate regions of Mexico, are of 
similar design, with a central dome and Doric towers. 



114 MEXICO 

Some scores of the finer city churches and convents were 
confiscated by the government after the disestabhshment, 
and are now used as warehouses, hotels, private residences 
or government offices. 

For two centuries after the Conquest there was an epoch 
of church-building in Mexico. Peon and milhonaire sub- 
scribed lavishly, and the remarkable feature of this great 
outburst of building was the way in which Aztec and 
Spanish art were blended, with a result that, if somewhat 
barbarically florid, is very impressive. Even in secluded 
villages and townships you can see towers and domes which 
rival the best work of Italy and are reminiscent of the 
triumphs of Moorish art. For the most part, they were the 
work of the native Indians, who carried out the architectural 
ideas of their Spanish masters. Many of the intricate designs 
and elaborate figures doubtless represent the mythology of 
the Aztecs, blended with the traditions of the victorious 
church. In some details there is a strong likeness to the 
strange symbols of the ancient Egyptian and Persian monu- 
ments. The ornate fagades often exhibit a blending of 
the two religions, the Christian saints being substituted for 
the pagan deities. 

In some quite small villages the churches astound with 
their splendor. Here and there is a towering fane with 
hardly a trace of a human dwelling near it. But this is 
not the case in the tropical portions of Mexico, where the 
churches are of a very humble and unadorned nature. 
Doubtless this is due to the fact that the early conquerors 
did not penetrate the hot lands, and also to the difficulty 
which the constant risk of earthquakes presented to the 
church-builders. 

For the most part the beauty of the churches is external, 
the interiors being often disappointing and garish in their 
ornamentation. But as you stand outside you feel strangely 



CHUBCHES AND MIRACLES 115 

impressed with the weird beauty of the extravagant and 
often bizarre sculptures. On this point Charles Dudley 
Warner says : '^ There is a touch of decay nearly everywhere, 
a crumbling and defacement of colors which adds some- 
what of pathos to these old Mexican structures, but in nearly 
every one there is some unexpected fancy, a belfry oddly 
placed, a figure that surprises with the quaintness of its 
position, or a rich bit of deep stone carving; and in the 
humblest and plainest fagade there is a note of individual 
yielding to a whim of expression that is very fascinating. 
The architects escaped from the commonplace and con- 
ventional ; they understood proportion without regularity, 
and the result is perhaps not explainable to those who are 
only accustomed to English church architecture.'' 

In keeping with the somewhat tawdry ornamentation 
of the interiors, the organs of most Mexican churches are 
very inferior, and most of them have too much resemblance 
to the old-fashioned street organ, lacking both musical 
qualities and power. The choir-boys rarely have good 
voices. They are too nasal and harsh. 

Most of the old churches were erected as the result of 
some supposed supernatural occurrence, Mexico, for two 
centuries after the Conquest, having been a veritable land 
of miracles. Nearly every town and village has its legend 
of miraculous appearances of the Virgin, of saints or angels. 
Almost every church has its wonderworking image or 
picture, superstitiously guarded through the ages. For 
example, at Tacubaya, not far from the capital, there is 
the arbol benito (blessed tree). The story is that an aged 
monk, weary with his work among the Indians, rested under 
the shade and gave the tree his benediction, praying that 
it might be blessed with eternal youth. No sooner had 
the good man spoken than a choir of sweet angel voices 
was heard, and a spring of pure water gushed from the 



116 MEXICO 

roots. You really feel you must believe this, for the tree 
is standing there, ever green, and the little rivulet flows on 
forever. 

The church of La Piedad, in another suburb, was built by 
a Dominican in 1562 in fulfilment of a vow. He was com; 
missioned by the brotherhood to bring them from Rome a 
picture of the Virgin and the dead Christ, painted by a well- 
known artist. Obliged to come away in a hurry, he brought 
the picture in an unfinished state. During his journey the 
vessel was overwhelmed in a terrible storm, and the monk 
vowed to the Virgin that if the ship came safely to port he 
would build a church in her honor. The prayer was an- 
swered; and more than this, for when the painting was 
exposed in Mexico, it was found to be finished in all its 
details. This remarkable picture is hung to-day over the 
altar. 

At Los Remedios, three miles from the city, stands the 
church of our Lady of Succor, or Senora de los Remedios. 
During the flight of the "Sorrowful Night" a Spanish 
soldier, Juan de Villafuente, had on him an image of the 
Virgin. Wounded and unable to guard it, he hid it under 
a maguey plant. Twenty years later, an Aztec chief, 
Cequauhtzin or Juan Aguila, while hunting on the hill of 
Totaltepec, saw the Virgin in a vision, and she told him to 
seek the image. The chief searched, found it under a 
maguey plant and took it home. In the morning it had 
disappeared, and on returning he found it again under the 
maguey. Once more he took the image back to his house, 
where he placed fruit and flowers as offerings before it, 
but it returned to the plant. Again he brought it back, 
and this time, being a cautious man, he locked it in a strong- 
box and all night long slept on the lid. But even these 
precautions were in vain ; for when dawn came, the box was 
empty, and the image was found under the maguey. The 





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CHURCHES AND MIRACLES 117 

Indian told his story to the priests, and they , convinced that 
a miracle had taken place, built a shrine on the spot and 
placed the image in it. This was afterwards replaced by 
the present church, begun in 1574, and the restless image, 
which is of rudely carved wood, much disfigured by time, 
is now enshrined on the great altar. It measures about 
eight inches. The gourd in which the Aztec chief placed 
his offerings before it is also preserved in a silken case. 

Greater far than all these miracles, however, is that of 
our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, which 
is honored by a great national festival on the tenth of every 
December. The shrine of Mexico's saint is an imposing 
church at Guadalupe Hidalgo, about three miles from the 
capital. Thousands of Indians pour into the city to attend 
this festival, some by train, some on horseback or burro, 
hundreds more tramping on foot from remote parts of the 
Republic. 

The legend to which these remarkable pilgrimages owe 
their origin dates from the early days of the Conquest. In 
the year 1531, so the story goes, an Indian, Juan Diego, 
a native of Tolpetlac, walking over the hill of Guadalupe 
to mass, of a sudden heard the singing of angels, and to him 
appeared the Virgin, who bade him go to the bishop and 
say that it was her wish that in her honor a temple be built 
on the spot. Juan hurried to the bishop, Don Juan Zu- 
marraga, who, however, doubted the story. Much disap- 
pointed, Juan reclimbed the hill; and again the Virgin 
appeared to him, bidding him once more convey her com- 
mands to the bishop. Juan again returned, but the bishop 
still discredited the message, and asked the Indian to prove 
his story in some way. On his departure, the bishop sent 
two of his servants to follow him, but on approaching the 
hill he mysteriously disappeared from view. The third 
time the Virgin appeared, and Juan told her the bishop 



118 MEXICO 

demanded a proof of her appearance. She bade him come 
the next day, when she would give him a sign. On his 
return home, the Indian found his uncle dangerously ill, 
and during the next day he was busy nursing the sick 
man. 

The following morning Juan started for Tlaltelolco to 
fetch a confessor. In order to avoid meeting the Virgin, 
he did not take the usual road, but went by another on the 
eastern side of the hill, yet, despite this precaution, the Virgin 
again appeared. Juan told her the reason of his absence 
the day before and of his errand. She replied that he need 
have no fear, as his uncle was completely restored. Then 
she bade him gather flowers from the barren hillside, and 
to his amazement he saw beautiful flowers growing around. 
The Virgin ordered him to gather these and take them to 
the bishop, warning him not to show them to any one until 
the bishop had seen them. Carefully wrapping the flowers 
in his blanket or tilma, Juan hurried to the bishop's house. 
On his arrival, he unfolded his tilma, when upon it there 
was seen a beautifully painted image of the Virgin. Taking 
this wonderful picture, the bishop placed it reverently in 
the chapel of his residence, and when Juan returned home 
he found his uncle quite well, as the Virgin had declared. 

The bishop ordered a chapel to be built on the spot where 
the Virgin had appeared, and in it was placed the holy 
painting in February, 1532. It is now kept in a tabernacle 
in a frame of gold and silver, covered with plate-glass. 
The tilma is a coarse cloth of ixtl fibre, and of the picture 
which is painted on it much of the coloring stifl remains, 
the blue robe and pink skirt of the Virgin and the surround- 
ing halo being wonderfully well preserved. Ecclesiastics 
declare that the painting has been examined by many 
Mexican artists, but the manner of its exact production 
remains a mystery. Sceptical Mexicans scofT at this and 



CHURCHES AND MIRACLES 119 

declare the picture is a crude piece of work, while admitting 
that the coloring is remarkable considering its age. 

The present church of Guadalupe was completed in 1836 
at a cost of two and a half million dollars. It is a massive 
stone structure, with a central dome flanked by towers 
filled with bells. Its height from the floor to the dome is 
125 feet. In size the church is quite a cathedral, and its 
services are so organized. The interior is magnificently 
adorned, a massive railing of solid silver weighing twenty- 
six tons enclosing the high altar of Carrara marble. Here 
is enshrined the sacred tilma. Over the altar are some 
Latin lines in honor of the Virgin, written specially by Pope 
Leo XIII. The walls of the basihca are adorned with five 
frescos portraying the history of Guadalupe. In 1895 a 
golden crown, richly bejewelled, was presented to the church 
to be suspended over the painting, the gems having been 
subscribed by the women of Mexico from their own jewels. 
It is a glittering mass of diamonds, rubies and sapphires. 

To the right of the church is a chapel built over a spring 
which gushed from the ground where the Virgin stood, and 
which the superstitious believe has medicinal properties. 
At the back of the chapel are the tombs of Santa Ana and 
several other men famous in Mexican history. Beginning 
at the church is the hill of Guadalupe, ascended by a long 
flight of stone steps which lead to a shrine at the summit. 
It is a long, tiring climb, but all the pious who make pil- 
grimages to the church ascend the hill. Halfway up are 
the so-called Stone Sails of Guadalupe, an interesting monu- 
ment of the romantic past. Some two hundred years ago, 
so the story runs, a crew of sailors caught in a storm prayed 
to the Virgin of Guadalupe, vowing that if they were brought 
safely to land they would carry their ship's foremast to the 
hill of Guadalupe and set the sails up before her shrine. 
Being saved; the sailors fulfilled their promise, and their 



120 . MEXICO 

curious monument was eventually replaced with sails of 
stone. 

On the day of the great festival, which is kept as a public 
hoHday all over Mexico, I drove with some friends in an 
automobile to Guadalupe. The electric cars which run 
out to the city were packed with people, mostly Indians. 
Hundreds of men, women and children were walking in 
the road, some coming from Guadalupe, others going there. 
A large force of the mounted Repubhcan Guard were 
stationed along the road to keep order. When we arrived 
within a mile of the church, the crowd became so dense 
that the pohce stopped our car. We got out, and making 
very slow progress, eventually reached the church, where 
we witnessed a most remarkable scene. The plaza in front 
of the church was packed with a moving mass of Indians 
of every tribe and color, wrapped in bright blankets of every 
hue, the women all wearing the inevitable blue rebosa. 
There were long lines of booths for the sale of tamales, 
chili-con-carne, green and red peppers and all the other 
weird eatables the Indian heart delighteth in, together with 
gallons of pulque and mescal. There were stalls where 
crudely colored pictures of the sacred tilma and tilma 
postcards were on sale, and a roaring trade was being done 
in candles, beads, charms and trinkets of every kind. The 
gambling booths were surrounded by excited crowds of 
Indians intent on losing their last centavos, and a touch 
of the modern, with its vulgarity, was introduced by the 
whining screech of a phonograph and the strumming of a 
piano-organ which ground out tunes for the merry-go- 
round. 

Inside the churchyard, a large stone-paved enclosure, 
were encamped hundreds of Indian famihes, some with all 
their belongings and eatables, a mass of men, women, 
children and babies. Most of them were filthy and travel- 




CHURCH AT TEPOZOTLAN. 
A fine specimen of Mexican church architecture. 



CHURCHES AND MIRACLES 121 

stained, and the smell of this unwashed humanity was almost 
intolerable. The encampment of these Indian pilgrims 
extended for nearly a mile around the church; here and 
there fires were burning, and repulsive-looking food was being 
cooked. Pushing our way through the crowd, we managed 
to enter the church, which was filled with kneeling Indian 
worshippers, holding tapers in their hands. Almost every 
tribe in the Republic was represented in this strange as- 
sembly, the worshippers all pressing forward in the intensity 
of their devotion, trying to get still closer to the shrine of 
their patroness. 

Mass was being sung by gorgeously robed priests, among 
whom was the Archbishop of Mexico, wearing vestments of 
white and gold. Choir boys in surplices of crimson and 
white, mostly swarthy young Indians, sang incessantly, 
their voices being very nasal and harsh. The Indians may 
sing musically in their own language, but when they speak 
in Spanish or sing in Latin their voices are almost always 
unpleasantly nasal. But the scene was one which must 
live in the memory. The great church, ablaze with candles ; 
the dense throng of devout worshippers in their tattered 
blankets and worn rebosas ; the glittering gold ornaments 
on the altar, with its wealth of floral decorations, above 
which hung the sacred tilma with its gorgeous crown ; the 
regal pomp of the clerics standing grouped within the glitter 
of the solid silver chancel rail; the clouds of incense, — all 
made such a scene as is scarcely to be described. 

While we were viewing the interior of the church, we 
observed many Indians squirming on the tiled floor, push- 
ing and struggling round small squares of crystal glass. 
At first they appeared to be searching for something, and I 
thought they must be scrambling for coins which had been 
thrown to them by visitors. But on approaching nearer, 
the smafl squares of glass proved to contain saintly rehcs 



122 MEXICO 

of some kind. The Indians, both men and women, kissed 
the glass repeatedly, rubbed their hands and faces on it, 
and some laid their babies on it, all the while uttering pious 
ejaculations in Spanish and Indian. It was a wild, weird 
scene. There were several squares of glass set in the tiled 
floor in different parts of the church, and each had its mass 
of Indians squirming and struggling around it. Many of 
the devotees were suffering from bodily ailments for which 
they sought a miraculous cure. In some parts of the church 
silver feet, arms and legs of miniature size are displayed 
on black cloth panels, having been offered by afflicted 
pilgrims who have been restored. 

It is estimated that over forty thousand Indians attend 
the Guadalupe celebration every year. This means a 
great harvest for the railways, which run special excursion 
trains from all parts of Mexico. Pilgrims are coming, how- 
ever, at all times of the year, for Guadalupe is the Mecca 
of the poor Indian, and he who has seen the sacred shrine 
is ever an object of envy. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 

In Mexico City a visitor sees Mexican social life scarcely 
at its best, if he is anxious to learn something of the real 
manners and customs of the people. For the capital is not 
truly Mexico — at any rate, so far as the richer classes are 
concerned. It is a city of motley civilizations; and in 
fashionable circles one finds a great deal of Madrid, a little 
of Paris and slight infusions of London and New York. 
Still all this is very superficial, and if the stranger has the 
good fortune to break through the adamantine barrier of 
etiquette, prejudice and precedent which stifle social inter- 
course among well-born Mexicans, he will be surprised to 
find how thin is the veneer of culture, and how much of 
seventeenth-century Spanish custom still survives in the 
daily lives of the owners of twentieth-century motor-cars, 
and among women who wear the latest Parisian fashions. 

Owing her civilization to Spain it is, of course, natural 
that Mexico should be largely governed by Spanish social 
ideas ; but the curious fact is that many customs long ago 
discarded in Spain are still observed in Spain's former col- 
ony. Women are still kept jealously guarded from the 
outer world; strangers are rarely admitted to the family 
circle ; and the whole social system is hedged in by as many 
precautions as a Chinese mandarin adopts to guard his 
household against the evil influence of the '^ foreign devils." 

High society in the capital is largely a replica of Spanish 
society, but is far more exclusive and old-fashioned than 

123 



124 MEXICO 

that of Madrid. It is composed; for the most part, of those 
families who have been rich for generations, who own huge 
estates ; and besides these are many of the higher govern- 
ment officials, successful lawyers and other professional 
men. The majority of these people are of pure Spanish 
descent, or represent French and Italian ancestry. 

To any one familiar with the life of London, Paris or New 
York, society in the Mexican capital appears extremely 
dull. Dances, musicales and other social entertainments 
seldom take place, and it is quite unusual for people to dine 
in parties at fashionable restaurants. Such recreations as 
golfing and tennis are absolutely unknown to the fashion- 
able Mexican woman. The chief amusements of the upper 
classes are mostly limited to driving and family dinner 
parties, which are all very proper, very unexciting and 
must become very boring. If a stranger is invited to a 
meal, it is usually to luncheon, a heavy, full-course repast, 
served at one o'clock, followed by coffee and cigarettes, 
served in the drawing-room. Chocolate, a favorite bever- 
age, is also often served, being made very thick, and ac- 
companied with rich cakes. 

There are some palatial houses in the capital, many of 
them situated in frowzy residential districts which are 
being rapidly transformed into business centres. Shabby 
and unattractive on the outside, they are often richly fur- 
nished within, and abound in wonderful old furniture, 
bric-a-brac and works of art. In recent years some 
wealthy people have built handsome houses of French de- 
sign in the new residential quarters, notably in and about 
the Paseo de la Reforma, these mansions being also dec- 
orated and furnished in modern French style. Hardly 
any of the houses, old or new, are equipped with fireplaces 
or other systems of heating, and on cold days are far from 
comfortable. In the old houses there are spacious patios, 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 125 

open to the sky, and in these meals are often served, even 
in the winter time, when the temperature occasionally 
falls below fifty degrees, and a good blazing fire would be 
welcome. 

Few Mexican women are domesticated, and everything 
is left to the servants ; for the lady of the house would con- 
sider it disgraceful to do anything or to see to anything 
herself. This has a most deplorable result upon domestic 
arrangements, and even has the effect of deteriorating the 
value of some of the ancient plate and china, which are treas- 
ured possessions of the wealthier families. Left to the 
tender mercies of untrained and badly managed servants, 
they get tarnished and broken, lost or stolen. The care 
which an American or English woman will lavish upon the 
decoration of her dinner-table is inconceivable to Mexican 
women. Thus, to save themselves trouble in a land which 
is one large hothouse, they generally decorate their rooms 
with artificial flowers. 

Many Mexican women of the fashionable class have been 
educated in French convents, and owing to this, French is 
very generally spoken in society circles. On the other 
hand, many of the younger men have been to English schools, 
and some of them have been at Oxford and Cambridge. 
They have thus acquired strong British sympathies, which 
they show by getting their clothes from London, and intro- 
ducing various EngHsh customs, such as afternoon tea, 
which is popularly known as "5 o'clock." Some of the 
wealthy famihes, too, employ English governesses, and it 
has become quite a fad among fashionable folk to have 
Enghsh coachmen. A knowledge of Enghsh is thus be- 
coming much more general among the upper classes. Many 
members of the Mexican smart set, too, visit New York 
and Washington during the social season, and have in this 
way acquired a few American ideas. 



126 MEXICO 

Children are brought up in much the same way as in 
Spain, but are kept somewhat more secluded from the out- 
side world; this being especially so in the case of the girls. 
In the household, however, as visitors are mostly intimate 
friends and relations, the youthful members of the family 
enjoy great freedom, and the system of confining them in 
nurseries or schoolrooms is not generally common. 

Suspicion of strangers, as already remarked, is the in- 
variable rule among the wealthy classes in Mexico, and one 
must know a Mexican for a long time before being granted 
the privilege of entering his household as a guest. Once 
admitted, however, they are found to be the most charming 
hosts in the world. Nothing is too much trouble for them 
once they adopt you as a friend. When visiting a country 
house, your host will think nothing of riding many miles 
with you over rough roads on your leaving, simply as a 
mark of esteem. 

Mexicans, in fact, are full of Latin enthusiasm; their 
southern blood is shown by their animated gestures in 
conversation, and by their flow of complimentary expres- 
sions which are never meant. They take sudden fancies 
for persons and things, gush over them for a time, and then 
quickly forget them. For this they must be forgiven, as 
it is simply a matter of racial temperament. 

Despite the restrictions of society in the capital, there 
are many delightful people among the higher classes, who 
always take a foremost part in entertaining visiting for- 
eigners of any distinction. President Diaz and his charm- 
ing wife are, of course, the nominal heads of society, and 
preside at a number of interesting functions during each 
winter season. Another distinguished member of the 
official circle is Senor Landa y Escandon, governor of the 
Federal District and mayor. He is one of the wealthiest 
men in the Republic, is the principal representative of the 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 127 

aristocratic Escandon family, and has a beautiful house on 
the outskirts of the city. He speaks English fluently, 
having been educated in England. Another popular host 
is Sefior Limantour, the Minister of Finance, who is of 
French descent, and a man of great culture. 

An important element in the social life of the city is the 
diplomatic corps, which is quite large, there being some 
twenty-seven duly accredited representatives of foreign 
powers, including even those of Russia and Japan. A great 
deal of entertaining is done by the diplomats, and especially 
by the Spanish, German and Russian ministers. The Brit- 
ish government is represented, at the present time, by 
Mr. Reginald T. Tower, whose handsome residence in the 
Avenida de Paris is one of the finest in the city. Mr. Tower 
was appointed in 1905, and soon after his arrival in Mexico 
it was his pleasing duty to present to President Diaz the 
Grand Cross of the Bath, which had been conferred on the 
President by his Majesty, King Edward. Among British 
residents in Mexico Mr. Tower is deservedly popular, and 
he has done much to assist British commercial interests in 
all parts of the Repubhc. The United States has been 
represented for several years by Mr. David E. Thompson, 
who ranks first among members of the diplomatic corps, 
and he alone is an ambassador, the other foreign represent- 
atives being simply envoys extraordinary and ministers 
plenipotentiary. 

Among the higher classes art and literature are keenly 
appreciated, and several painters and authors of Mexican 
origin are famous outside their own country. Mexico has 
produced many writers, some of considerable eminence. 
Perhaps the most interesting of these were the native Ind- 
ians, Ixtlilxochitli, Tezozomoc and Nitzahualcoyotl, who 
lived at the time of the Conquest and chronicled the glories 
of their ancestors in Spanish prose and poetry. Verse has 



128 MEXICO 

always played an important part in Mexican literature. 
The chief modern poets are Justo Sierra, Manuel Flores, 
Juan de Dios Pesa (known as the Mexican Longfellow) 
and Jose Peon y Contras. Among the novelists are Senor 
Irenio Paz, editor and novelist, whose stories are valuable 
for the pen pictures of Mexican life which they present, and 
Vincent Riva Palacio, whose works are noted for the ele- 
gance and purity of their style. Senor Mariscal, Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, is also a well-known writer, and has 
translated into Spanish the works of several well-known 
American writers. Some Mexican plays and books of verse 
have been widely read in Spanish-speaking countries, but 
as yet there have been no translations into English. The 
Mexican government does much to foster literary talent, 
and a deserving writer is certain of official patronage. As- 
sistance is also given to art students, over two hundred 
prominent young artists and sculptors having been pen- 
sioned and sent abroad to pursue their studies. Among 
the artists of national repute are Sefiores Leandro Izaguirre, 
Ramos Martinez and Alberto Fuster, who studied in Rome 
and Florence and have produced some notable works. 
Seiior Juan Telles Toledo is the foremost Mexican portrait 
painter. 

While on the subject of literature, a few words about 
Spanish as spoken in Mexico may be of interest. Most 
of the Spaniards who colonized the country came from An- 
dalusia, and the Spanish commonly spoken to-day in Mexico 
is not exactly classical or Castilian. For example, the true 
Spaniard pronounces the word '^cielo" (heaven) as ihe- 
aylo, whereas the Mexican gives the c its English value, and 
never the sound as is given in this and other words in 
Spain. The Mexicans have another peculiarity of speech. 
When asking a question, they invariably end the sentence 
For instance, a man will ask, ^' Are you com- 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 129 

ing out, no?" A shopkeeper says, '^Will you buy some- 
thing to-day, no?" This strikes on the American ear as 
very strange. Many Spanish words, too, have been altered. 
Thus, manteca, meaning ^^ butter" in Spain, has been 
changed in Mexico into mantequilla. A large number 
of Indian words have also been incorporated in the language, 
such as sarape, a blanket, for which in Spain the word 
^^manta" is used. 

People of wealth in the capital are taking a keen interest 
in motoring, and large numbers of cars, mostly American 
makes, are seen in the streets. It is due to the influence 
of these motor enthusiasts that the suburban roads have 
of late been greatly improved. 'WTiile I was in the city, 
a new motor road was completed to San Angel, a pictur- 
esque and beautiful suburb a mile or two out, where many 
wealthy citizens have their houses standing among gardens 
of flowers and palms. The inauguration was marked 
by a military procession, the firing of cannon, a display of 
fireworks; school children sang hymns and scattered 
flowers, and the governor of the Federal District, an en- 
thusiastic motorist, made a stirring speech. In San Angel 
is a popular motoring resort — a beautiful old Spanish 
mansion — which has been transformed into a luxurious 
hotel, furnished in a style appropriate to its ancient char- 
acter and with all its quaintness preserved. On the day 
of the celebration, I lunched with some motoring friends in 
the spacious patio, filled with tropical flowers and shrubbery, 
where a fountain tinkled merrily, and numerous singing 
birds soothed us into a feeling of man ana. 

Another motor road has been laid and opened to Toluca, 
a curious old town with a population of twenty-five thou- 
sand and a reputation for brewing the best beer in Mexico. 
The principal church there was built in 1585, and is remark- 
able as containing the first church organ made in the New 



130 MEXICO 

World. The trip to Toluca is full of interest, the road com- 
manding views of some fine mountain scenery. 

Mexicans of all classes, especially in the country dis- 
tricts, are born horsemen, and are much interested in horse- 
racing. The races in the capital, however, are very dif- 
ferent from those held in the United States. Ladies rarely 
attend them, and as they are not of a really public char- 
acter, the crowds of spectators, the bookmakers and other 
followers of the turf seen at American races are never in 
evidence. There is a good track near Mexico City owned 
by the Jockey Club, but owing to the high altitude, which 
affects the breathing of animals as well as human beings, 
it is only about half the length of an American track, the 
horses being unable to cover a greater distance. As a rule, 
the horses are small and wiry, but wonderfully fast and 
enduring. 

Motoring and horse-racing do something towards reliev- 
ing the dulness of life in the capital ; but dull as it is, the 
life of the upper classes seems positively gay in comparison 
with the humdrum existence of people lower down in the 
social scale. From an American point of view, the social 
life of the Mexican middle classes certainly seems unbear- 
ably monotonous, those recreations upon which the mass 
of the people in New York, for instance, so largely depend, 
such as out-door sports, exhibitions and music halls, being 
altogether unknown, while the cheaper theatres are patron- 
ized chiefly by men. 

There are, strange to say, no music-halls, in the strict 
sense, in Mexico City. Latterly, however, there has been 
an outburst of cinematograph shows which advertise their 
attractions by electric signs and seem to do a roaring busi- 
ness. About five moving-picture exhibitions are given 
every hour, each of these being called a tanda. At the con- 
clusion of a tanda a collector passes through the hall and 




TYPICAL MEXICAN WOMEN OF THE UPPER CLASS. 




PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN. 

Youthful Mexican Indians whom the government is educating. 

(See page 148.) 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 131 

demands payment for the next. This system is also fol- 
lowed in most Mexican theatres, although it applies more 
particularly to the cheaper and smaller houses. In these 
places, people simply pay for an act, and then again for the 
next if they wish to remain. In all the theatres, between 
the acts, the men, with their hats on, stand up and survey 
the audience ; and more curiously still, even the fashionable 
women rise from their seats and glance round the house 
through their lorgnettes. 

The three chief theatres in the capital are the Teatro 
Principale, chiefly reserved for melodrama and vaudeville 
performances ; the Renacimiento, which holds an audience 
of two thousand, where are presented Italian and French 
opera as well as the masterpieces of Mexican and Spanish 
dramatists; and lastly the Arbeu, reserved for concerts 
and dramatic performances. The Salon de Conciertos is a 
concert hall with a fine auditorium, while the Circo Teatro 
Orrin is a kind of hippodrome. When gala performances 
are given, the Circo is splendidly adorned with flowers 
and flags, bouquets and button-holes being presented to 
the audience. President Diaz has a box, and on state 
occasions is always present. 

Mexicans are very fond of music, and in nearly every 
house of the wealthy classes you find a good piano, some- 
times of excellent make. Many ladies play well and sym- 
pathetically, but they do not often sing. The regimental 
bands are really excellent, and every town has its plaza 
centred with a bandstand, where music is heard every night. 
In the interior of Mexico guitars, mandolins and violins 
are very common, as also crudely formed harps of an ancient 
pattern. The Indian music is usually of a very melancholy 
description, which is increased by the fact that the natives 
chant or rather howl their choruses in a style far from 
musical. There are, however, several pretty and stirring 



132 MEXICO 

songs by native composers; while the Mexican national 
anthem is truly inspiring, and such songs as ^'La Golon- 
drina" (The Swallow), the Mexican ^^Home Sweet Home/' 
are irresistibly sweet. 

Until recently, it was the custom, even in large cities, 
for people of the upper class to promenade in the inner 
circle of the Plaza from half-past seven to half-past eight 
in the evening, while the band was playing, the ladies walk- 
ing two or three abreast, strolling round and round in one 
direction, while the men walked in the other. As they 
passed, greetings would be exchanged, such as, ^'Adios, 
seiior'' and ^'Adios, senorita" (adios being a greeting as 
well as a farewell). Young men and women thus had a 
chance to see each other and start flirtations. The peons, 
the blanketed masses, also promenaded in the Plaza; but 
they always kept to the outer circle, the line between the 
two classes being distinctly kept. If a peon had dared to 
trespass in the inner circle, he would have been ejected 
by the police. Americans and other foreigners walked, of 
course, on the inner path. 

Owing to the enormous influx of foreigners, many of 
them objectionable characters who haunted the plazas at 
night, parents and husbands found it undesirable to prome- 
nade in this public fashion, and it has been almost discon- 
tinued in most of the cities. When the band plays nowa- 
days in the larger towns, people of the wealthy classes ride 
round the Plaza in their carriages, while the middle-class 
women stay at home. 

In the matter of politeness and ceremonial, all classes of 
Mexicans are thoroughly Spanish. Imitation of Spain is 
also noticeable in the habit of procrastination; for Mexico 
is essentially the land of manana — to-morrow. Time is 
idled away, and no man can be depended upon to turn up 
at an appointed hour, punctuality being regarded as the 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 133 

vice of a bore. Social calls often last hours^ and the longer 
you stretch them out the more polite you are deemed. The 
foreigners who get on in Mexico are those who have patience 
with these native customs. Hustling Americans are pre- 
doomed to failure. 

Mexicans of the upper class have a pretty way of telling 
you that their house is yours — ^'Su casa es numero," 
meaning literally, ''Your house is number — /' giving their 
address. Of course this is a mere manner of speaking, and 
must not be regarded as a serious invitation. 

A story is told of a ''wild Western " American who, visit- 
ing the capital, was casually introduced in the street to a 
Mexican senor who extended to him the formal invitation. 
Later in the day, when the Mexican returned to his home, 
he was amazed to find the American seated in his drawing- 
room in his best chair, his feet perched on "another, his 
portmanteau at his side, puffing a big cigar, and at being 
greeted with a boisterous, "Wal, Colonel, I've come." 
History does not relate what the Mexican said or did. 

Men of all classes in Mexico lift their hats on meeting, 
and the laconic American how-d'ye-do is not at all to the 
taste of the Mexican, who will stop to inquire of his friend 
as to the health of his wife, children and household, name 
by name. The poorest Indian is just as polite. I was 
once fishing in a lake with a poor peon, who rowed my 
boat and baited my hook. We happened to go ashore and 
walked along the beach, where we met a tattered, bare-legged 
Indian hauling in a net, assisted by his wife. Taking off 
his battered old hat, my boatman said, "Buenas noches, 
seiior" (Good evening, sir). The other Indian solemnly 
returned his greeting, and then with a sweep of his hat to 
the woman, he said, " A los pies de usted, seiiora " (At your 
feet, lady). The whole act was marked by a grace and 
ease of manner which would have done honor to a cavalier. 



134 MEXICO 

The wrinkled Indian dame, despite her tattered garments, 
was equal to the emergency, and with the gracious manner 
of a grande dame replied, ^^Sus palabras, seiior, son agra- 
dables" (Your words, sir, are sweet to the ear). It all 
meant nothing, but it was very wonderful. I asked my 
Indian companion his name, and with a bow he gave it 
to me, adding, ^^Su servidor" (Your servant). Even the 
lowliest peasant will not fail to say ^'Con permiso" (With 
your permission), if he must pass another person, even as 
lowly. 

All Mexicans are the slaves of habit. If anything is not 
customary, it cannot be right or worth considering. Thus, 
if a servant were asked to scrub the flopr when her usual 
duty was to cook, she would politely refuse, with the phrase, 
''No es costumbre" (It is not the custom). Foreigners 
in Mexico are constantly coming in conflict with their peon 
servants on this point, and it is quite difficult for the Euro- 
pean or American to realize that these humble servants 
would far rather lose their situations than do anything, 
however trivial, contrary to their established custom. 

It is natural enough that the matter-of-fact, prosaic way 
of the Anglo-Saxon should jar most unpleasantly on such 
people. Americans of the crude, ''wild Western" type 
are the people who horrify the Mexicans most. They slap 
the ceremonious natives on the back after a slight acquaint- 
ance and interlard their conversation with strings of oaths. 
Mexicans look upon men of this kind as we should regard 
the average New York "tough." 

A Canadian business man told me an amusing story 
illustrating this point. He was calling one day, he said, 
on the Jefe Politico in a Mexican town, the Jefe (pro- 
nounced hayfay) being an important government official. 
This particular Jefe appeared to be laboring under sup- 
pressed excitement and said, at last, "You must excuse 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 135 

me this morning, seiior, if I am deprived of your delightful 
company sooner than I wish; but I am expecting a visit 
from un Americano muy distinguido (a very distinguished 
American)." The slovenly sentry, marching up and down 
before the official residence, seemed to think that something 
important was going to happen; for he straightened him- 
self up, and kept looking down the street as if to catch a 
glimpse of the distinguished visitor. The Canadian dehb- 
erately prolonged his visit, being curious to have a look at 
this wonderful person, who, he concluded, must be a Pier- 
pont Morgan at least. Suddenly the door was darkened, 
and a grizzled Western American, with his hat on his head, 
looked in and drawled out, ^^Say, which of you fellows is 
the^JefTy'?" 

If you express admiration for any article in a house, 
the polite Mexican will take it up and say, ^'It is at your 
disposal, seiior," and insist on your accepting it. You 
are, of course, supposed to refuse, firmly and politely, say- 
ing, ^^No, no, senor, many thanks, but it could not possibly 
be in better hands." I was told of a Western mining man, 
however, who took a mean advantage of this venerable 
custom. 

He had done some business with a wealthy Mexican in 
one of the large towns, and had spent quite a lot of money 
in entertaining him, giving him dinners, taking him on 
automobile drives, and giving him a trip in a private rail- 
way car. The Mexican, who was extremely parsimonious, 
did not return any of these little attentions. On the day 
he was leaving, the American called at the Mexican's house, 
and there saw a fine collection of golden Aztec relics which 
had been dug up in that part of the country. He expressed 
unbounded admiration for them. The Mexican imme- 
diately summoned his man-servant and said, ''Juan, the 
American senor has honored me by admiring these things. 



136 MEXICO 

Pack them up and send them to his hotel at once." ''No, 
no, senor," exclaimed the Westerner, sweeping the curios 
into a bag that he carried, ''don't put yourself to all that 
trouble. I'll take 'em along with me right now." Forth- 
with he said good-by and departed with the whole col- 
lection, leaving its late owner wild with rage. A friend 
of the Westerner, on hearing the story, said, "But didn't 
you know that you were not supposed to accept those things 
but politely refuse them ? " "Of course I knew," answered 
the other, "but I wanted to get even, so I simply called his 
bluff." 

With the march of progress the cost of living in Mexico 
is gradually becoming much higher. Ten years ago a 
man with a small salary could get a house in the capital, 
with four rooms and a kitchen,* for $12.50 a month; but 
to-day the rental of such a house ranges from $25 to $75. 
Nowadays, two small rooms and a kitchen will cost at least 
$12 a month, while from $60 to $100 must be paid for a 
small flat or house of the better class. In like manner the 
price of many foodstuffs has greatly increased. It is 
true that fruit, vegetables, eggs and milk are, as a rule, 
about the same price as in New York; but meat is dear, — 
at any rate, good meat, — and all imported articles are 
abnormally costly. This, as already observed, is due to the 
suicidally high protective tariff. 

The poor of Mexico City herd together in foul tenements 
in the slum districts, these dwellings, called viviendas, 
being usually of one story and built round a central patio. 
Two, three and even four families are often crowded to- 
gether in a single room, the cheapest of these — inhabited 
mostly by working people of the poorest class — costing 
about a dollar and a half a month. These horrible places, 
reeking with filth and infested with vermin, look more like 
pig-pens than the dwelling-places of human beings. With 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 137 

such conditions it is not surprising to find typhus and other 
diseases extremely prevalent in the capital. 

In some of the viviendas women and children sleep on 
old sacking on narrow boards, which have served for tables 
during the day, supported by piles of stones. The men sleep 
under their blankets, which they use as cloaks in the day- 
time. It is quite common for animals, dogs, cats, chickens 
and sometimes even a pig or a donkey, to sleep among the 
tenants of these dreadful abodes. In the centre of the patio 
is a water-tank, generally filthy, from which water for drink- 
ing and cooking is taken. No one living under these con- 
ditions could escape typhoid. 

The government is doing everything in its power to im- 
prove matters, but the work is necessarily slow, as the bulk 
of the poorer population of the capital are Indians, who 
greatly resent any sanitary reforms. Some time ago, when 
there was a serious outbreak of typhus. President Diaz 
ordered that every peon in the city must take a bath at 
least once a week. As the Indian masses regard water 
with aversion and soap with horror, this cruel decree almost 
led to riots. PoHce officers were compelled to go from 
house to house and literally drag the protesting peons to 
the public wash-houses, their victims the while struggling, 
kicking and shouting furiously, '' No jabon ! no jabon ! " 
(No soap ! no soap !) 

A better class of poor people occupy separate houses, 
or rather huts, on the city's outskirts. These are usually 
nothing more than wretched hovels of adobe such as are 
found in the country districts, and contain hardly any 
furniture. They are generally surrounded with a broken- 
down stone wall and a hedge of tall, straight cactus. The 
tenants spend most of their time outside their doors, and 
the women can be seen making tortillas and doing the 
family cooking on a crude stove at the threshold. 



138 MEXICO 

The fact that Mexico is a land of startHng contrasts can 
nowhere be seen more perfectly than in the capital, where 
almost in a street's length there are the strangest transitions 
from civilization to barbarism. I stood in San Francisco 
Street one evening, among the brilhantly lighted shops, 
watching the procession of carriages with their fashionable 
occupants going by, noticing, on every side, the signs of 
modern luxury and progress. From this lively scene a 
walk of less than a mile in the direction of Guadalupe took 
me to a quiet road lined with adobe huts, with all the char- 
acteristics of Indian life, much the same as it was when 
Cortes landed. Unkempt Indian women were patting 
tortillas behind the cactus hedge, and half-naked children 
frolicked among the goats and pigs. Along the road came 
a train of burros laden with wood, fruit and vegetables for 
the market, driven by ragged Indians in their red blankets. 
There was nothing to remind me that I was so near a great 
modern city until suddenly a big automobile came whizzing 
along the road, its horn tooting gayly, and I was recalled 
to the present age. 

From Indian huts to city restaurants is a sudden tran- 
sition, but being typical of life in Mexico, it may serve as 
an excuse for the devoting of a few words at this point to 
the all-important subject of eating and drinking. This is 
a subject, in fact, in which the average man in the Mexican 
capital is keenly interested, for while there are a legion of 
restaurants there, very few of them are really good, either 
in regard to cooking or service. The best are a combina- 
tion of French, Spanish and Italian establishments, and the 
charges are not exorbitant. Most of them are housed in 
dingy buildings, and have no external attractions for the 
diner. In this respect nothing could be more marked than 
the difference between Mexican cities and those of other 
countries, for, with the sole exception of the Chapultepec 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 139 

Cafe, there are none of those very ornate estabhshments 
which so largely add to the charm of dining out in most 
lands. The average Mexican restaurant is, in fact, very 
inferior. A foreign visitor gives first one and then another 
a trial, returning to the first in despair, after he had sworn 
never to darken its doors again. Many men of moderate 
means whom I met appeared to be like de Soto in his vain 
search for treasure, forever seeking, but never finding, a 
decent meal. 

Of the few restaurants where the cooking can be relied 
upon, the best are the Cafe de Paris, the Cafe de la Paix, 
Sylvain's and the Cafe Chapultepec. In all these the cooks 
are French, and one can order a dish with a quiet mind and 
the certainty that it will be eatable. The menu cards are 
usually Spanish, though some restaurant proprietors, as 
I have said, attempt English translations. In most of the 
large establishments, too, the head waiters usually speak 
English. 

If a stranger is content to embark on a course of Mexican 
food and can stomach the highly seasoned dishes, filled with 
chilis and red peppers, he can get satisfactory meals at the 
Mexican restaurants, for some of the things which are served 
are piquant and excellent. But he must beware, for the 
dishes have a nomenclature all their own, and one can 
blunder badly. Therefore, unless the head waiter can ex- 
plain the composition of the various strange dishes, the 
uninitiated guest is in danger of being served with some very 
unappetizing messes, reeking with grease and filled with red 
peppers, chilis and other fiery condiments. 

Of the foods most popular among Mexicans mention 
must be made of chili-con-carne (chilis with minced meat), 
which is very palatable, although hot. Tamales, another 
favorite dish, are made of chopped meat, highly seasoned 
with pepper and chiUs, wrapped in a corn husk and boiled 



140 MEXICO 

quickly. Sometimes a tortilla is used as a wrapping, and 
the tamale is cooked in boiling fat. Enchiladas are some- 
thing like tamales, but are seasoned with Mexican cheese 
and onions and soaked in chili sauce. The native bread, 
tortilla, has already been described. Frijoles (par excel- 
lence the Mexican national dish), a vegetable equivalent 
to the roast beef of old England, are black beans boiled, 
then fried in lard and served reeking with grease. As such 
cooking is quite unsuited for a hot climate, it is not sur- 
prising to find that diseases of the stomach and liver are 
almost universal among Mexicans. At the cost of a few 
cents, enough frijoles can be bought to feed a family for a 
day. Few householders furnish their servants with any 
other food than tortillas and frijoles. 

Eggs (huevos) in various forms are served at every meal, 
a plain omelette being called a tortilla natural or tortilla 
de huevos. Cocidas are a concoction of potatoes chopped 
in small pieces, beetroot, carrots, small pieces of meat, 
maize and cauliflower, all boiled together. A salad of cold 
sliced tongue, chopped olives, celery and lettuce, with 
mayonnaise dressing, is very popular. Stewed or roast 
chicken served with rice, highly seasoned, called arroz con 
polio, figures on every bill of fare. 

Roast beef is served in every style, always with some 
highly seasoned sauce, and is sometimes actually smothered 
with raisins. The meats, as a rule, are fresh, but generally 
stringy and tough, due to the fact that the grazing is poor, 
and that meat, on account of the heat, must be eaten very 
fresh. The same quality is noticeable in the poultry, which 
is always tough, as it is never allowed to hang long enough. 
In cutting up meat the butchers never disjoint the carcasses, 
but cut the flesh off in strips. 

Fresh vegetables are not obtainable in Mexican hotels 
and restaurants as largely as they ought to be, and during 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 141 

the winter season American and French canned vegetables 
are chiefly used. There is no excuse for this, as vegetables 
of all kinds can be grown the year round in most parts of 
Mexico. On the other hand, fresh fruits are plentiful, 
such as apples and peaches from the temperate zone, and 
pineapples, oranges and bananas from the hot country. 
One of the most interesting fruits is the aguacate, which 
resembles an enormous green pear, the inside of which is 
like butter, is almost tasteless, and is frequently used as 
a natural salad dressing. 

Bread and rolls are invariably good. The native butter 
is usually uncolored and unsalted and has very little flavor, 
but is only served in the best establishments, American 
butter or oleomargarine being more extensively used. 
Milk, as a rule, is rather poor and watery, but an excellent 
cream cheese is made in some parts of the country. 

There are very few native drinks which are palatable 
to foreigners. The ill-tasting pulque is not drunk by the 
better-class Mexicans or served in the restaurants. French, 
Italian and Spanish wines and German beers can be had 
at most of the better-class establishments, and here and 
there the order 'Terveza de Milwaukee" will be under- 
stood. Some very fair light lager beer, brewed by German 
firms at Monterey and Toluca, is a very popular drink. 
There are also several native mineral waters, of which the 
best known is Topo Chico, derived from a spring of the same 
name near Monterey. The indolence of the Mexicans is 
solely to blame for their having no native wines, for excel- 
lent grapes will grow well all over the country. This is 
another instance of the Mexican being governed by habit. 
Wine-making was prohibited by the Spaniards in the in- 
terests of the wines imported from the mother country, 
and as the Mexican has not made wine for four hundred 
years, he cannot see why he should begin now. 



142 MEXICO 

Of course, all Mexicans love coffee, but as a rule the coffee 
grown and served in Mexico is very strong, with a drug- 
like bitterness, partly due to the bean being too much 
roasted. 

Service in Mexican restaurants is almost as unsatisfactory 
as the food. The waiters, mostly swarthy Indians, dressed 
in the conventional waiting dress, frequently present an 
amusing resemblance to opera-bouffe brigands, and seem 
quite out of their element. Very few of them know any 
English, and unless a person speaks Spanish very well, 
they do not understand him. From my experiences, I 
became convinced that most of the Mexican waiters were 
recruited from institutions for the feeble-minded. If, 
for instance, I ordered a steak or any other dish which took 
a little time to cook, and wanted soup to precede it, the 
waiter, instead of serving the soup just before the steak, 
would rush off and bring the soup immediately. Twenty 
minutes later, when my appetite was all destroyed by the 
soup, he would appear with the rest of the meal. I tried 
in vain to induce the waiters to do otherwise, or even to 
serve the two courses together ; but they merely shrugged 
their shoulders and murmured, ^^No, seiior, no es costum- 
bre" (No, sir, it is not the custom). 

If you are in a hurry to catch a train, and implore the 
waiter to be quick, he puts his thumb and forefinger gin- 
gerly together and says, "Un momento, senor,'' as if a 
moment were a fragile piece of spun-glass and he was afraid 
of breaking it. Then the swarthy villain strolls off and dis- 
appears for nearly an hour. That is costumbre. 

But vengeance sometimes follows fast on the laggard 
footsteps of the Mexican waiter and turns his little comedy 
into an unexpected tragedy. Even while I was in the cap- 
ital, the always reliable Mexican Herald published the fol- 
lowing item in its news columns : — 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 143 

" In the Maison de la Providencia, at Toluca, yesterday, 
a hungry guest shot Margarito Lopez, a waiter of the estab- 
Hshment, through the hand, because the waiter did not 
answer his call promptly. '^ 

This little gem of journalism is a fitting introduction to 
the subject of newspaper enterprise in Mexico, which is 
much older than the stranger visiting the country would 
at first sight believe. The first newspaper indeed was 
printed as long ago as 1693, and was known as El Mer curio 
Volante or Flying Mercury. Thenceforward other news- 
papers were founded, but they were always entirely under 
the thumb of the government, and the numbers of their 
readers was so small that they had no power in shaping 
pohcies for years after Mexican independence had been 
declared. To-day there are many newspapers and period- 
icals of all kinds pubhshed in Mexico City. There is, how- 
ever, no Mexican yellow press, as a Mexican journalist would 
never dream of trespassing upon the privacy of a family 
to get copy. 

When General Diaz became President thirty years ago, 
such newspapers as flourished then were fairly uncontrolled 
in their political criticisms. They appealed to the people 
much as do the French radical newspapers, and many revo- 
lutions were due to their turbulent editorials. President 
Diaz found these journals a considerable obstacle to the 
establishment of law and order. By his direction, some of 
the most mischief-making of the editors were arrested and 
lodged in Belem Prison, a jail reserved for the lowest type 
of criminals. After a week of solitary confinement and a 
diet of bread and water, they were brought before the 
President. ''Now, gentlemen," said he, ''what do you 
think of my government?" "Seiior Presidente," they 
replied, "we think it is the finest government on the face 
of the earth." "Just continue to think so, gentlemen," said 



144 MEXICO 

the President, ''and we shall get along splendidly." As 
the editors wisely kept on "thinking so," there was no fur- 
ther trouble. 

To-day the Hbel laws are very severe, and the govern- 
ment is keen in suppressing political criticism in the press. 
The editors, also having a wholesome fear of Belem Prison, 
restrict their comments to the most respectful choruses of 
approval. Most of them are subsidized by the government, 
too, so that President Diaz and his cabinet have little fear 
that the obsequious gentlemen of the pen will lessen their 
own incomes by rash words. 

The modern Mexican newspapers have a necessarily small 
circulation, for the amount of illiteracy in the country is 
appalling. Of the fourteen millions of population, over 
sixty per cent are still unable to read or write. Chief 
among the daily papers is El Imparcial, which might be 
called the Times of Mexico, but although it is the official 
organ of the government, its circulation does not exceed 
a hundred thousand, including the whole of the Republic. 
It is a fairly good paper, considering the monopoly it has 
long possessed, its editor being an influential member of 
Congress. An afternoon edition of El Imparcial is pub- 
hshed, called El Heraldo. Both papers, though printed in 
Spanish, are in the matter of head-lines and illustrations 
much Americanized and quite up-to-date. But strangely 
enough, though copying the methods of the press of the 
United States, El Imparcial is anti-American in tone and 
vehemently maintains the patriotic doctrine of ''Mexico 
for the Mexicans." 

Next to El Imparcial in circulation is El Diario, a bright 
Spanish daily recently started by Messrs. Simondetti and 
Fornaro, able Italian journalists with American training. 
El Diario might be called the New York Journal of Mexico, 
having some tendency to the sensational. It evidently 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 145 

pleases the Mexicans, for it already has a large and rapidly 
increasing circulation. This paper has big head-lines, often 
in red ink, and its illustrations and cartoons bear some 
resemblance to those of Mr. Hearst's newspaper. 

While I was in Mexico City, El Diario was waging war 
against the local tramway company whose cars were con- 
stantly running over unfortunate peons and killing or maim- 
ing them. Every morning its front page contained a list 
of the victims, and articles bitterly denouncing the tramway 
management. These were accompanied with sensational 
cartoons with lots of red ink in them, bearing such cheerful 
titles as ^^ A Vintage of Blood,'' '^ A Carnival of Gore." 

Other papers published in the capital are El Pais, a 
Catholic journal. El Popular, La P atria, and Los Sucesos 
(Events) . La Patria is a very old Liberal Party paper. El 
Tiempo is the leading Catholic or conservative publication, 
and circulates all over the Republic. There are also a 
number of weekly and monthly periodicals issued in Mexico, 
including magazines, literary reviews and various trade 
and financial journals. 

Two daily papers in EngUsh are pubUshed in the capital, 
the Mexican Herald and the Evening Post, both owned 
and edited by Americans. They are read by the Enghsh- 
speaking population all over Mexico and by an ever increas- 
ing number of Mexicans who understand English. The 
Herald is edited by Mr. Frederick Guernsey, formerly of 
Boston, a very able journalist, who has lived in Mexico 
nearly thirty years. 

In Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Oaxaca and some other 
cities with a large English-speaking population, Americans 
have started weekly newspapers in English. In Monterey 
there is quite an important American daily. Outside of the 
capital, however, most of the Spanish-printed newspapers 
are very insignificant one-sheet affairs. The best paper 



146 MEXICO 

published in Vera Cruz, for instance, would not bear com- 
parison with some of our American country weeklies. 

In the smaller towns the Mexican editors all show a great 
lack of enterprise, rarely publishing any bright local news, 
and not hesitating to print intelligence that is at least a week 
old. An amusing reason for this was given to a friend of 
mine by the editor of a Mexican weekly. ^'Good news," 
he said, ^^is like good wine; it improves with age. It is 
always better to hold news over for a week. If it is true, 
we shall get more facts ; and if it proves to be false, why 
should we print it?" 

The Mexican press is much hampered by a high protec- 
tive duty on paper. Some members of the government 
are interested in a paper mill, which probably accounts for 
a policy which forces publishers to use Mexican paper. 

Several of the more important American newspapers 
have correspondents in Mexico City, and one or two English 
newspapers are represented. The Associated Press of the 
United States also has an office and a daily telegraphic 
service. 

The growth of the press in Mexico has been greatly as- 
sisted by the wonderful railway development which has 
taken place during the past twenty years. In the old days 
the circulation of newspapers was almost entirely local, but 
to-day El Imparcial, El Diario, the Mexican Herald and 
other city papers, thanks to quick delivery, are read in all 
parts of the country. Even twenty years ago, Mexicans 
did a great deal of their travelling in slow, lumbering old 
stage-coaches, while to-day there are over thirty railways 
in Mexico, with a total mileage of fourteen thousand. 

Most of the Mexican lines have been built with the as- 
sistance of government subsidies averaging from ten to 
fifteen thousand dollars per mile, provisional on the rail- 
way becoming the property of the state, at a fair valuation, 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 147 

after ninety-nine years. Of the railways now in operation 
the two most important are the Mexican Central and the 
Mexican National, which run through the centre of Mexico 
from the United States boundary and have many branches. 
Each year new lines are laid down, and the railway commu- 
nication between ports on the Gulf and Pacific coasts is 
being constantly increased. The policy of the government 
being to obtain a controlling interest in all railway under- 
takings, they have lately purchased control of the Mexican 
National, and are now to obtain a predominating voice 
in the Mexican Central, which will be an important step 
towards the scheme of nationalization of railways at which 
Mexican statesmen are aiming. It is noteworthy that the 
lines to which the Mexican authorities are devoting their 
attention are those which are American-owned, while the 
two EngUsh lines, the Mexican Railway and the Mexican 
Southern, have so far escaped official attention. No doubt 
the Mexican government fears that the great trunk railways 
of the United States would in time absorb the Mexican fines, 
and by extortionate rates and other trust evils seriously 
impede Mexican progress. 

Heretofore the personnel of the National and Central 
railways have been almost entirely Americans; but the 
Mexican government is dismissing the foreigners wherever 
possible and putting Mexicans in their places. A some- 
what tyrannical decree which was recently issued, that every 
American employee must acquire a working knowledge 
of Spanish in six months or lose his place, shows pretty 
clearly what the Mexican policy is. This decree appfies to 
all railway employees except the managers and clerks. 

Except in the capital, Mexican railway stations are 
usually built some distance from the towns, so that cabs 
or street-cars have to be used to reach homes or hotels. 
This was done to avoid the purchase of expensive rights of 



148 MEXICO 

way. The Mexican Central and Mexican National rail- 
ways run fine vestibule trains between Mexico and the 
United States, with connections which enable one to make 
the journey from the Mexican capital to New York in less 
than five days. 

Railway enterprise is doing much to change Mexico. 
The centres of population have always been on the great 
plateaus of the interior, the coasts being very sparsely 
inhabited. Until recent years, communication with the 
ports, except Vera Cruz and Tampico, was by rough moun- 
tain trails. Transportation of goods was slow and expen- 
sive and necessitated pack-mules, donkeys and armies of 
cargadores. Since railway development began, even min- 
ing has become of secondary importance compared with 
the great increase in commerce and manufacture and the 
impetus which agriculture has received. 

Another important fact is that the railway extensions 
have greatly diminished the chances of successful revolution. 
In the old days it took so long to travel from the capital 
to any of the big provincial centres that revolutions might 
be brought to a successful issue before any considerable 
body of government troops could arrive. All this is changed 
now, as with the aid of railways, telegraphs and telephones 
troops can be concentrated at any place by special train at 
a few hours' notice. With such a strong government as 
Mexico at present possesses, there is consequently little 
chance of a revolution succeeding, even temporarily. 

The awakening of Mexico, with the advancement of her 
press and the development of her railways, has been ac- 
companied by wonderful progress in pubhc education. 
Much has been done of late under the educational system 
inaugurated by President Diaz in 1876, and at the present 
time even the smallest town has its public schools. There 
are to-day in these schools over eight hundred thousand 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 149 

scholars, while upwards of one hundred thousand pupils 
are attending private schools, institutions supported by 
the clergy, or those of a private nature. Education is 
compulsory, though there are great difficulties in enforcing 
the law. In the primary schools, where boys and girls 
are separately educated, the three r's are taught, and in 
many cases instruction in the English language is given, 
so that in a few years Mexico will tend to become an Eng- 
lish-speaking country. In passing a Mexican public school 
one hears a strange buzzing like bees, the custom being 
for the children to sing their lessons in chorus. 

In Mexico City the national government maintains the 
following institutions : Academy of Fine Arts, School of 
Civil Engineering, School of Medicine, Law School, Academy 
of Commerce, Academy of Arts and Trades, Conservatory 
of Music, Mihtary College, School of Mines, and schools 
for the deaf, dumb, and blind. There are seventy-two 
public hbraries in the country, the National Library in the 
capital containing over two hundred and sixty-five thou- 
sand volumes. 

In the army and the prisons there is also a system of 
compulsory education, strict attendance at the classes being 
enforced. The soldiers are for the most part Indians, and 
when they join the ranks are almost without exception 
illiterate. They are given instruction in reading, writing, 
arithmetic, natural science, history, drawing and singing. 
This applies equally to the jails, where, if a prisoner is ear- 
nest in his study, he can eventually win his freedom. The 
Indians, as a rule, are bright and quick to learn. Op- 
pressed and enslaved for centuries, they had little chance 
to show what was in them ; the twentieth century has now 
given them their opportunity. The supreme importance 
of education among the masses has been keenly recognized 
by President Diaz, who, in speaking of the Mexican school 



150 MEXICO 

system, recently said : '^ I have started a free school for boys 
and girls in every community in the Republic. We regard 
education as the foundation of our prosperity and the basis 
of our very existence. We have learned from Japan, what 
indeed we knew before, but did not reahze quite clearly, 
that education is the one thing needful to a people." 

The spread of education among the masses of Mexico is 
destined to have an important effect in shaping the future 
of the Roman Cathohc Church within the borders of the 
Republic, where it is still a power. A wonderful history 
is that of the church in Mexico, dating as it does from the 
Spanish Conquest, when missionary priests marched with the 
soldiers of Cortes and spread the teachings of Christianity 
among the conquered race. Once subdued, the Indians 
took kindly enough to the new religion, their cordial recep- 
tion of it being strengthened by the shrewdness of the priests 
in blending the ritual of the new and old faiths. Aztec 
gods were cleverly metamorphosed into Christian saints, 
keeping many of their pagan characteristics. Thus the 
Goddess of the Rains is recognizable in our Lady of the 
Mists, to whom prayers for rain are often offered in true 
pagan fashion. Catholic churches were generally built on 
the sites of Aztec temples. Mexican Catholicism has indeed 
ever been marked by a strong tendency to idolatry, and 
Catholic clerics have noticed and denounced this straying 
from the forms of Holy Church. In some parts of Mexico 
pagan practices are still kept up, such as the dances in front 
of the church, while the offerings of fruit and even lambs 
and chickens at wayside shrines are also fairly common. 
The priests are unable to stop these survivals of paganism. 

Less than a century back the church was all-powerful 
in Mexico, and its wealth was estimated at close on two 
hundred million dollars. It has even been estimated as high 
as five hundred milHons. Gifts and bequests were made to 



THE LIFE 'OF THE PEOPLE 151 

it by rich and poor alike, and the best part of the farm lands 
in the country belonged to it. The church threw all its 
weight into the scale against progress, and it was the abuse 
of its power which brought about in 1864 its disestablish- 
ment. President Juarez was no man for half measures, 
and under his government's decree church lands were seized, 
monasteries and nunneries suppressed, the priests were 
forbidden to walk in the streets in clerical dress and all 
religious processions were voted illegal. Marriage was made 
a civil contract, and in addition to losing this source of its 
revenue much of the church plate and the interior adorn- 
ments were looted and sold as old metal. 

Even at the present time, though of course looting is 
out of fashion, church property is still threatened. Quite 
recently the Mexican government has notified the bishops 
throughout Mexico that all church property and fittings 
belong to the state, and that under no circumstances what- 
ever have the priests the right to part with any article. 
The ostensible ground for this decree is said to have been 
the purchase of some ancient silver altar candelabra by an 
American millionaire. The Mexican authorities, hearing 
of this, prohibited the removal of the candlesticks. But 
the church sees in this latest move something far more 
serious than an attempt to restrain globe-trotters from 
filling their trunks with souvenirs of their travels. The 
church is probably right. 

Still the hold of Catholicism on the bulk of the Mexicans 
is very firm, and during the past half century it may be 
said to have regained some of the power lost immediately 
after the disestablishment. The influence of the priests is 
almost unlimited, and there are many cases of their grossly 
violating the laws of the land. Women are the stoutest 
adherents of the priestly lawbreakers, the Mexican men 
seldom troubling themselves about church matters. 



152 MEXICO 

Though the ringing of church bells is regulated by law, 
they clang away discordantly all day long; the priests 
openly appear in distinctive cloaks ; and the villagers will 
often raise money to pay a heavy fine rather than be de- 
prived of their religious processions through the streets. 

Slowly the church is once more acquiring much land. 
When a rich Mexican Ues dying, he must restore any church 
property that he has become possessed of, or the priests 
will refuse him extreme unction. To defeat the law, the 
property is placed in the hands of a trustee. In the same 
way the law regarding marriage is disobeyed, the clergy 
teaching the people that the ceremony in the church is all 
that is needed. Thus the church has recaptured one of the 
most profitable of her sources of revenue, for the priests 
think nothing of charging the peons five dollars as a mar- 
riage fee, and the charge was recently as high as fifteen 
dollars, a sum entirely beyond the means of the ordinary 
Indian laborer. In consequence of these heavy charges, 
thousands of couples remained unmarried. While I was 
in the Sierras, a Jesuit priest came to a village and mar- 
ried, at greatly reduced rates, a large number of natives 
who had been living together for years unmarried, as they 
were too poor to pay the fees. Many of them had grown-up 
children. 

Yet despite all this, one must not condemn Mexican Ca- 
tholicism too bitterly ; for there are many among the priests 
who are entitled to be called patriotic and progressive men, 
who struggle to abate existing evils and improve the con- 
dition of the masses. The saying in regard to the sins of 
the fathers is well exemplified in Mexico, where the priests, 
however well-meaning, do suffer and are likely to go on suf- 
fering for the gross sins and abuses of their predecessors. 

Under Mexican law there is complete religious toleration. 
Baptists, Methodists, and other Protestant sects being per- 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 153 

mitted to carry on an active propaganda throughout the 
RepubHc. Still Protestantism makes but little headway, 
and there are said to be but twenty-five thousand of its 
followers throughout the country. In Mexico City the 
Methodists, Baptists and other sects have their own pub- 
lishing houses and produce a good deal of literature in 
Spanish. Christian Science is also making some progress. 
There are in the capital several Protestant churches whose 
pastors conduct services in Spanish and English, and there 
are the usual Sunday-schools and mission meetings. The 
Salvation Army alone is barred by reason of its proces- 
sions and distinctive dress. In bigoted parts of Mexico 
Protestant preaching has at times provoked fierce attacks, 
and native converts have been the victims of terrible and 
often fatal assaults. 

President Diaz has always been keen on religious tolera- 
tion. His views on this subject were clearly and eloquently 
expressed in an address to some Protestant missionaries 
a few years ago, when he said : '^ I have seen this land as 
none of you ever saw it, in degradation, with everything 
in the line of toleration and freedom to learn. I have 
watched its rise and progress to a better condition. We 
are not yet all we ought to be and hope to be, but we have 
risen as a people, and are now rising faster than ever. Do 
not be discouraged. Keep on with your work, avoiding 
topics of irritation and preaching the Gospel in its own 
spirit." Such an utterance from such a man proves that 
toleration has certainly dawned in Mexico. Official rec- 
ognition has been freely given to Protestant missionary 
effort. Vice-President Corral is the honorary president of 
the Mexican branch of the Y. M. C. A., and President Diaz 
himself has attended its meetings. He and his cabinet 
have also been present at special memorial services in the 
Presbyterian churches. Less than a generation ago this 



154 MEXICO 

would have been impossible, and such an action by a 
president would have invited assassination. 

The extent of the power still wielded in Mexico by the 
ancient church is strikingly shown in the burial of the dead, 
the majority of funerals being conducted with CathoHc 
rites. A number of curious burial customs also exist, some 
of which are due to racial and chmatic reasons, while others 
have undoubtedly originated in churchly tradition. 

In Mexico, as in all other tropical countries, a body must 
be buried within twenty-four hours after death. This 
necessarily entails much haste and worry on the part of 
the bereaved ones, at a time when they are least able to 
bear it. Haste being thus a prerequisite, coffins are in- 
variably purchased ready-made, and in accordance with 
the general custom, corpses are dressed in their best clothes, 
a dress suit in the case of a gentleman, while a lady is 
arrayed in her finest evening gown. A few of the old 
families, however, still adhere to a more venerable Mexican 
custom of dressing the dead as nuns and friars. 

In Mexico City, and some of the other large towns, the 
cemeteries being some distance out, hearses and mourning 
coaches are not used at funerals, but the coffins of rich and 
poor are conveyed in funeral street-cars as described in a 
preceding chapter. The mourners are always men, as ladies 
in Mexico do not follow funerals. A brief service is there- 
fore read at the house of the bereaved family, a few con- 
cluding rites being observed at the cemetery. Instead of 
being screwed down, the coffin is provided with a lock, and 
before being lowered into the grave the lid is lifted, so that 
an official of the cemetery, who is present, can be con- 
vinced that the coffin contains a corpse and have it formally 
identified. The coffin is then locked, deposited in the grave 
and the key handed to the chief mourner. 

In most parts of Mexico burial plots in the cemeteries 



THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 155 

are usually leased for a term of years. At the expiration 
of the time, unless the lease is renewed, the bones are ex- 
humed and thrown into a charnel house. The cemeteries 
are little visited except on All Saints' Day, when friends 
and relations flock to them with wreaths, crosses and bou- 
quets of flowers to decorate the graves. Death feasts are 
also held in the cemetery on this day, tables being arranged 
near the graves and loaded with eatables which have some 
ghastly reference to mortality, such as cakes or sweets 
representing skulls and cross-bones, while a real skull and 
a bowl of holy water are set in the midst of these grewsome 
dainties. 

Whenever a death occurs among the poor, a kind of 
Irish wake is held by the family and friends, in which there 
is much drinking of pulque and singing and dancing. The 
corpse is never left alone for a moment, for fear that evil 
spirits might tamper with it. Following the custom of 
their Aztec ancestors, the Indians still place corn, and some- 
times other edibles, in the coffins in order that the dead may 
have food to sustain them on their long journey to the land 
of spirits. For poor funerals, coffins are frequently hired 
for the day, the body being simply conveyed in it to the 
cemetery, the coffin being afterwards returned to the under- 
taker. 

An interesting religious custom is observed in Mexico 
in the months of January and February. It is known as 
the ^^ blessing of the animals,'' and takes place in connection 
with the Feast of St. Anthony. On the appointed day, the 
people congregate in the churchyard, driving with them 
their household pets and other animals, all of which are 
decorated for the occasion. At one of these services, 
which I witnessed near the city, there were cows, burros, 
sheep and mules, painted and trimmed in various vivid 
hues. There were green sheep, pink goats and blue pigs, 



156 MEXICO 

horses covered with scarlet and gold paper stars tied with 
bands and bows of flaming ribbons. Women brought their 
parrots and canaries in their cages, while turkeys, geese and 
old hens were carried in, all adorned with ribbons of gay 
colors. When the church bell sounded, a priest appeared 
in the porch, and the people made a rush for the door, 
driving or holding up their various beasts and birds to 
catch a drop of the holy water which was sprinkled. 

Another remarkable reHgious celebration takes place on 
Easter Saturday, when papier-mache effigies of Judas 
Iscariot are hung along the streets, ranging from little 
figures to some which are almost life size. Each figure is 
filled with explosives and has a fuse attached to it. These 
are exploded in all directions until the noise is deafening. 
Some of the figures bear such mottos as, ''I am the Devil's 
son/^ ''Blow me to Inferno." Everybody considers it his 
duty to blow up a Judas. 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE MEXICAN WOMAN 



A GOOD idea of the difference between the status of 
American and Mexican women could be obtained by com- 
paring a photograph taken at midday in Fifth Avenue, 
New York, with one taken at the same hour in Calle San 
Francisco, Mexico City. In the New York view there 
would perhaps be more women than men, whereas in the 
Mexican scene, so far as the white element is concerned, 
there would be comparatively few. This is noticeable, in 
fact, wherever one goes in Mexico, for among all classes 
of Mexicans, except the Indians, women are kept more 
strictly secluded than even in Spain. There is, at present, 
no strictly defined Mexican middle class; but both the 
upper class and what would be equivalent to the minor 
business classes in this country are rather Moorish than 
European in their treatment of the fair sex. 

Girls of the higher class, in taking their walks abroad, 
are still guarded by watchful duennas, and until recently 
women of high society rarely took a drive in an open car- 
riage. To such an extent, in fact, was this exclusion carried 
in former days that some of the grande dames, when shop- 
ing, did not leave their carriages, but had the salesmen bring 
the goods to the door. 

These severe restrictions as to women showing them- 
selves in public brought about in Spain and Mexico the 
use of the windows and balconies so characteristic of the 
two countries. This is almost the only way in which the 

157 



158 MEXICO 

seiioras and senoritas can, with due regard to propriety, 
take the air ; and thus in the cool of the evening they can 
be seen sitting Hke prisoners, peering out through the iron- 
barred windows at the carriages and passers-by, and perhaps 
nodding to friends. 

With its bolts and bars, real and figurative, the Mexican 
perhaps cannot claim that the word "home," in the Ameri- 
can and English sense, has any real meaning for him ; but 
his house is in very fact his castle, and he guards it from 
the inquisitive with the precautions of a tyrant. As in 
Spain, the Mexican father of the upper classes is an ab- 
solute lord and master, and to him all are subservient, even 
the grown-up children being expected to show obedience 
in matters in which an American father would never dream 
of interfering. Marriage without the consent of parents is, 
for instance, quite unknown. 

But even with the strong discipline that prevails in the 
Mexican household, families are not always united; there 
are the usual quarrels, which in a climate where the blood 
is hot have led on occasions to serious brawls and duels in 
which lives have been lost. A disturbing element is per- 
haps the fact that among the upper classes it is common 
for a number of kinsfolk to occupy the huge old-fashioned 
family mansion. An uncle or two, an aunt, a few cousins 
and sometimes actually two mothers-in-law are added to 
the family circle and dwell together under the same roof. 
There is consequently bound to be more or less friction; 
and that so many f amihes can live peacefully together under 
such trying conditions is certainly proof of much patience 
and good nature. Between husband and wife, for whom 
when they differ there is no divorce, there may exist for 
years a complete estrangement; but the world will know 
little of it, for they will go on living in the same house, 
although they may never exchange a word. 



THE MEXICAN WOMAN 159 

So hide-bound are the rules which govern Mexican home 
hfe that even the most cultured and charming foreigners, 
resident for years in the country, have never penetrated 
into the houses of the wealthier Mexicans. No foreigner, 
unless he be associated with diplomacy, is likely to have 
any chance of studying and judging the Mexican women, 
so complete is what amounts to a true harem system. 

As a rule, the Mexican women are not beautiful. They 
are generally of medium height and slight build when young ; 
though as they progress in years they tend to obesity. 
Their skin is of an oHve tint and their complexions are 
usually bad, probably on account of the lack of exercise. 
They are much addicted to the use of powder, which is laid 
on very thickly, and their lips are often rouged. Mexican 
beauties may be divided into two classes : the slight, deli- 
cate girl with big, soft black eyes, and features somewhat 
suggestive of the Madonna type ; and a stout, voluptuous 
young woman, — a sort of Spanish dancing-girl type, — 
with bold, flashing black eyes. 

The free life lived by young American and English women 
is utterly unknown in Mexico. Girls are watched keenly 
by their mothers, who scarcely ever allow them out of their 
sight, save in the custody of some old woman-servant or 
other trusty retainer. Mexican women have no sympathy 
with the suffragette movement ; they do not want votes, 
and take no interest whatever in public affairs. The whole 
question of women's rights is tabooed, and all innovations 
in the household are looked at askance. 

The contrast between the lives of these dark beauties 
and those of their fairer Northern sisters is perhaps best 
realized from the fact that no Mexican girl of even the 
middle class would be permitted to have a young man call to 
see her or be her escort to the theatre. A Mexican mother 
would probably have a fit if such an idea were suggested 



160 MEXICO 

to her. In her estimation, no man is safe until he is married, 
and even then he will bear close watching. Doubtless this 
lack of freedom is the reason for the Mexican senoritas 
gaining the name of coquettes ; it is their way of rebelhng. 
But while there is so much outward show of restraint and 
so much parade of the modest and retiring virgin about the 
Mexican girl's home life, there is another side to the picture 
which is apt to jar on the Anglo-Saxon woman. Even 
Mexican women of the highest classes will permit them- 
selves to talk among their friends or with their servant- 
girls in a manner which would be regarded as shameful 
among Americans. If the latter show their astonishment, 
the Mexican woman, with a laugh, will accuse them of 
having false modesty. 

Mexicans are passionate admirers of the fair sex, and 
susceptible young fellows who see an attractive girl with 
her duenna will often follow her, uttering such compli- 
mentary phrases as, ''Ojos bellos" (Beautiful eyes) or 
^' Bella creatura '' (^^ Beautiful creature''), ^'Ah, hermosa 
rubia" (^^Ah, lovely blonde"), '^Charming brunette." 
Some of the girls titter and seem to like it. American 
girls, on the contrary, do not appreciate these Mexican 
compliments. A lagartijo or '^masher," who followed one 
strong-minded Yankee girl, giving utterance to his ex- 
pressions of admiration, was rewarded with some swinging 
blows on his head from the umbrella she carried. In 
Mexican love affairs, by the way, there is a pecuhar slang 
used. Thus a girl or boy jilted is called a calabaza, mean- 
ing the dried, empty gourd; old maids are solteronas; 
young men are gallinos — young roosters. 

A severe critic of Mexico has described it as a land where 
flowers have no perfume, men no honor and women no 
virtue. Americans and Englishmen who have lived there 
generally report that the whole race of Mexicans are grossly 



THE MEXICAN WOMAN 161 

immoral. Doubtless there is a great deal of exaggeration 
in these strictures. Such judgments have been formed 
largely from appearances, and, where it is so difficult for 
a foreigner to come into close touch with the intimate hfe 
of a people, it is surely only right for him to hesitate be- 
fore launching general indictments against them. There is 
no doubt much laxness in morals. The Mexican husband 
watches his wife as a cat does a mouse, yet very often she 
deceives him. All Mexican men are said to be unfaithful, 
and it is almost expected of any one who has the means, to 
keep two households at least. When an American friend 
of mine, who lives in Mexico, was recently making his will, 
his Mexican lawyer asked him if he had any children at 
home. "No,'^ he replied, ^'I have none," whereupon the 
lawyer, with a quizzical look, asked, "Well, don't you have 
any other household?" putting the question as a matter 
of course. It is this very different point of view which 
makes mixed marriages in Mexico almost invariably failures. 
The American girl or her Enghsh cousin who mates with 
a Mexican generally lives to repent it. In the same way, 
the marriages of Englishmen or Americans with Mexican 
women are generally failures. 

Under the system of seclusion of which she is the victim, 
the Mexican girl has but two things in life to occupy her, 
love and religion. The classical Spanish picture of the 
maiden at the barred window or leaning, Juhet-like, from 
a balcony, while her sweetheart thrums music to her on his 
mandolin or guitar, is reproduced every evening in Mexico. 
Courtship is a delightfully difficult pursuit. A young man 
will, by chance, meet a girl in the street or on the plaza. 
Her languishing black eyes will haunt him and, having 
followed her home, he must content himself for days and 
weeks with watching the house. He has reached the stage 
which is known as '^Hacer el oso" (to play the bear), a 



162 MEXICO 

phrase in comic allusion to his lovesick pacing up and down 
under the adored one's window as a bear walks backwards 
and forwards in his cage hour after hour. Now comes the 
girl's turn. Safe behind her curtain, or in the darkness of 
her balcony, she can make her coquettish little mind up 
whether he is quite the kind of bear she wants. If he is, 
she finds a dozen ways of encouraging him ; a smile, a wave 
of the hand, a suspicion of the blowing of a kiss are enough 
to make the bear happy. When she goes to mass or walks 
in the plaza, the faithful bear follows her, and although 
they cannot exchange a word, they can find happiness in 
looks. 

Sometimes a flirtation of this kind reaches the love-letter 
stage, servants or tradesmen who call at the house being 
bribed to deliver the billets-doux, or perhaps the missives 
are fished up by the amorous young lady with a string from 
the balcony. This is the moment when fate must decide 
whether or not the course of true love is to run smooth. 
If the parents disapprove, the unfortunate bear will soon 
know ; for the girl will be shut up either at home or in a 
convent to save her from his attentions. If, however, the 
bear is an eligible party, the parents do not interfere in the 
rather puerile course the love affair takes. For, having 
so far advanced, etiquette permits the girl to talk to her 
bear from the balcony or through the grille of her window ; 
and the moonlight nights are devoted to the pouring of 
sweet nothings into each other's ear. The patient bears 
are frequently content that this nonsense should last for 
years, and even then a bear may lose his prize. 

Bears are very jealous creatures, at least these Mexican 
bears are, and they will disguise themselves as mozos or 
peons and watch their fair one's window to see if another 
bear is in the running. An English friend of mine who 
lives in an old Mexican town witnessed an amusing instance 




"PLAYING THE BEAR." 
A popular feature of Mexican courtship. 



THE MEXICAN WOMAN 163 

of this not long ago. A young Englishman who happened 
to be visiting him was very fond of listening to the music 
in the plaza and watching the people. One evening when 
he was out with my friend, he remarked, ^^I've found a 
ripping place to sit and smoke my pipe and listen to the band. 
Tve been sitting in that old alcove window over there 
nearly every night. It's just off the plaza, and you can 
sit there and hear the music without getting in the crowd. 
Let's go over and sit down.'' They took a seat on the 
window ledge, and had been there only a few minutes when 
a red rose was thrown to them from an upper window. 
At the same moment they caught sight of a rather shabby- 
looking Mexican on the opposite side of the street, who 
looked up at the window, shook his fist and seemed to be 
in a great rage. He beckoned to another Mexican, who 
came up and spoke excitedly in Spanish. The English- 
men heard such words as 'Hraidora" (traitress), ^^ falsa" 
(false one), ^^corazon duro" (black heart). "Yes," said 
one of the Mexicans, "and there are actually two of them," 
pointing at the Britishers. My friend said : "Those fellows 
seem to object to our sitting here; we had better make 
a move." So they departed, wondering what connection 
there was between the red rose and the anger of the Mexicans. 
The mystery was solved a few days later when my friend 
happened to call on an old lady in the neighborhood. He 
mentioned the red-rose incident, and his hostess became 
almost hysterical with laughter. "Pardon me, senor," 
she said, "but it is the best joke I ever heard. It explain 
a great mystery. My nephew, Don Carlos, is much in love 
with a young lady. Miss Concepcion, who live in that house 
and he play the bear. He is very jealous and think per- 
haps she have another bear, so he disguise himself as a mozo 
and keep watch with a friend. He see your friend sit by 
the window every night and believe he is playing bear too. 



164 MEXICO 

The senorita see her bear watching in disguise and just for 
mischief she throw the rose to your friend. Oh, Don Carlos 
is very angry; he write bitter letters and say he is very 
much deceived, and Miss Concepcion now repent very much 
of her joke. I tell him now and everything will be all right . ' ' 
The next evening a very tame, subdued bear might have 
been seen standing below Miss Concepcion's window, making 
a very humble apology in choicest Castilian. 

But bear rivalries do not always end so innocently. 
There is very hot blood in the veins of the young Mexicans, 
and again and again reports will find their way into the 
papers of fierce conflicts between the suitors for the same 
girl. Thus, quite recently one of the Mexico City papers 
reported a fatal encounter at Chihuahua, where two young 
fellows, members of prominent families, embittered by 
rivalry, met at night and fought a duel with pistols, both 
being killed. At Monterey the coquettish desire of a girl 
to attract attention nearly cost the lives of two men. In 
the plaza, at night, she mischievously threw a flower from 
her bouquet towards a young man whose attention she 
wished to attract. Her lover, furious with jealousy, flew 
at his rival, and the two left the plaza to fight it out at the 
back of the town, and one if not both lives would have been 
lost if friends had not separated the angry young men. 

Before a bear can propose marriage he must, of course, 
interview the girl's parents. After a conventional period, 
accompanied by a friendly sponsor, he must formally call 
on the father and propose marriage. If he is eligible, the 
girl's inclinations are consulted. She wifl probably say, 
coquette that she is, that she cannot answer till she has 
met him. This, too, after months, perhaps years, of even- 
ings on the balcony. When the bear is at last permitted 
the entree, every member of the family and even the ser- 
vants have the right of witnessing his adoption as ^'son-in- 



THE MEXICAN WOMAN 165 

law elect." Thereafter he is the '' novis oficial" or accepted 
lover; but even then he never has the advantage of a 
tete-a-tete with his fiancee for some one is always playing 
gooseberry. And this very unamusing courtship also has 
the disadvantage of being extremely expensive. If, for 
example, the young fellow would take his sweetheart to 
the theatre or to a restaurant, he must entertain the whole 
family as well. 

Everything, in fact, falls upon the unfortunate bear; 
for when the fatal time approaches, not only must he pay 
for the furniture of the new home, but he is even expected 
to give the bride her trousseau. Among the wealthier 
people, it is true, the girFs parents pay for some of the 
latter, the bridegroom having only to provide the dresses 
and jewels. There are, in Mexico, two wedding ceremonies, 
the civil and religious, the latter taking place at the church, 
while the former is a contract made before the judge of the 
local court in the presence of six witnesses. After marriage, 
the wife uses her husband's name as well as her own. 
Sefiorita Garcia, who marries Seiior Fernandez, thus be- 
comes Seiiora Garcia de Fernandez. 

Religion means a great deal to the Mexican women. Most 
of them bear the sacred name of Mary, coupled with some 
incident in the life of the Virgin, such as 'Conception,'' 
'' Sorrows," '^ Assumption," ''Gifts," "Miracles," "Tears," 
etc. In their own way they are devout enough, and are just 
as scrupulous in performing their religious duties as they 
are in the matters of toilet. They are very superstitious, 
a result of their ignorance, and still beheve in signs, omens 
and other supernatural manifestations. As a rule, they 
are kind-hearted and charitable. Smoking is very general 
among them, and this is very often done in quite an open 
manner and in company with the male members of the 
family. Mexican women, on meeting one another, kiss each 



166 MEXICO 

other on both cheeks, but unhke the Frenchmen, the Mexi- 
can men do not imitate their wives in their greetings to 
their friends ; they simply embrace and pat each other on 
the back affectionately, the Mexican equivalent of '^good 
old chap. '^ 

The Mexicans have a phrase, ^^muy simpatica," which 
literally means 'Wery sympathetic," but really cannot be 
done justice to in English. It means that charming char- 
acteristic of personal attractiveness, the result of a sweet 
disposition, and this might be truly said to be a terse de- 
scription of the better Mexican women. They are ^^muy 
simpatica," and this the lucky stranger will learn who ex- 
periences their kindly hospitality. 

Indolence and a lack of domestic training are characteris- 
tic of even middle-class Mexican women and girls as well 
as of their wealthier sisters ; but it is more marked in large 
houses. All the marketing is left to the cook. She has 
a sum given her each day, and manages to squeeze a com- 
mission out of each shopkeeper. No Mexican housewife 
would dream of getting more than a day's supply of food, 
— sometimes, indeed, only a meal's supply is kept, — be- 
cause the servants would steal it, and also because there 
are no ice safes, and meat and other fresh eatables soon go 
bad. Such a system prohibits good housekeeping. Ser- 
vants' wages are very poor. A cook will get about three 
Mexican dollars a week ($1.50). In a well-to-do household 
there is a door-keeper (portero), a coachman (cochero), 
a chambermaid (recamera), an ostler (caballerando), a man 
of all work (mozo), a cook (cocinera), a woman to grind 
maize (molendera) and a footman (lacayo). Servants are 
summoned in true Eastern style by clapping the hands, as 
in most houses there are no bells. In old-fashioned house- 
holds the domestics call their mistress niiia, literally ^^ little 
girl." Except in fashionable houses, the servants are always 



THE MEXICAN WOMAN 167 

Indians. Their food costs but little, consisting, as it usually 
does, of tortillas and frijoles, and they rarely sleep in beds, 
preferring to spread a mat in the hall and roll themselves 
in a blanket. 

The rigid seclusion of women is a good deal relaxed in 
the country towns, where girls are seen more in the streets. 
They have a queer custom of taking a walk apparently 
after washing the hair, with their long tresses combed out 
and flowing down their backs. This they do not seem to 
consider at all strange. Their relations with the store 
people are equally unconventional. Even well-to-do 
women will come in and affably shake hands with the shop- 
men, talk in a friendly way with them, and inquire after 
their families. But all this freedom stops at the door. 
In the street the very same women cut their grocer. 
To do otherwise would be wrong — ''no es costumbre." 

A great deal of the severity of the old regime is breaking 
down under the foreign invasion. Rich Mexicans send 
their girls to schools in France, in England or the United 
States, and they gain new ideas of woman's sphere. But 
the change must be necessarily slow, and to all intents and 
purposes the average Mexican girl is not educated. When 
she has learned her alphabet and can write a stilted letter 
in a fulsome Spanish style, can murder a few pieces on the 
piano, and mangle a few French phrases, use her needle 
indifferently, and discover that her country is bordered 
by two oceans, her education is finished. But her greatest 
deprivation is the fact that she has no share in the happy 
outdoor life of athletics which has done so much for the 
present generation of American women. 

Still, all this is bound to change. The emancipation of 
Mexican women is only a question of time, and the day may 
yet dawn when the suffragette movement will be cordially 
taken up in the land of the Aztecs. Young women of the 



168 MEXICO 

middle class are going into business, taking work in the stores 
and in offices, and moving about freely in the city without 
chaperones. All this is affecting the prejudiced old Mexican 
families, who will gradually abandon their Eastern system 
of seclusion. 

Not long ago the Mexican Herald published a paragraph 
about openings for women in Mexico, which was copied by 
a number of American papers. The editor of the Herald 
subsequently received hundreds of letters from young 
American women offering to come to Mexico as typewriters, 
clerks, etc., and demanding absurdly high salaries. But 
what would most excite the fears of the Mexican maidens 
was that most of the American girls added a P.S. to their 
letters, asking what chance there was of their capturing 
Mexican millionaires on their arrival ! It is unlikely that 
Mexican women will be content with their dreary Uves of 
confinement when they see their country invaded by the 
ubiquitous Yankee business girl, taking her place in ab- 
solute equality by the side of their brothers. A trade in- 
vasion is one thing, a matrimonial invasion is quite another. 
The Mexican girls must look to their orange-blossoms. 

One feature of modern progress which is certainly to be 
regretted is the tendency to abandon the picturesque 
Mexican dress, the Spanish mantilla type, and to replace 
it with Parisian gowns and hats. Very few of the be- 
witching senoritas are now to be seen veiling their charms 
with those exquisite lace wraps which one associates with 
sunny Spain. Modish costumes are now generally worn, 
and owing to the equable climate, there are no such things 
as winter dresses or furs, summer gowns being worn all the 
year round. 

The Mexicans, like all tropical people, love color, and a 
strikingly tinted dress wins their admiration much more read- 
ily than the most costly of dull-colored silks. But the poorer 



TEE MEXICAN WOMAN 169 

girls cannot always indulge their taste, having to be content 
with a flower in the hair or in the dress, while they are 
usually clothed in a plain black skirt with a black cambric 
shawl over the shoulders, folded in front in old-fashioned 
style. This style of girl, whom one is always meeting in 
the streets, wears no hat. Many of them would be quite 
good-looking if they were only dressed properly. Ladies 
whom I interviewed on the subject told me that women's 
clothing is so expensive in Mexico that it is impossible for 
people of this class to buy anything better. Some of these 
meztiza girls, who have far more Indian than white blood 
in their veins, have rather an unpleasant look. They have 
dark olive skins, pronounced Indian features, and unnat- 
urally black eyelashes, as if they had been dyed. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE FOREIGN INVASION 

Mexicans being naturally averse to all business enter- 
prise or energetic action, have for years past left the de- 
velopment of their country to the strangers within their 
gates. Unless he is a man of wealth, the Mexican usually 
has one ambition, and that is to become a government 
employee. With this satisfied, he cares little about banking, 
trading or mining; at any rate, he does not care enough 
about them to put himself out and work hard. Thus it is 
that while the foreigners in Mexico form a comparatively 
small percentage of the population, yet their importance 
is not to be reckoned by mere numbers. 
r^. The English-speaking population of Mexico City is about 
six thousand, of which a very large proportion are Ameri- 
cans. What is true of the capital is also true of the country 
at large, and throughout Mexico there are more Americans 
than any other foreign nationality. Within the past dec- 
ade they have been simply swarming in, and with them 
have come millions of dollars of American money, which 
Mexico is destined to find a serious factor some day. 
Formerly, Americans were engaged simply in mining and 
railway building, but to-day they are to be found in nearly 
every branch of commerce. In Mexico City one sees 
American banks, and agencies for all kinds of American 
goods, such as sewing-machines, typewriters and agricul- 
tural machinery; there are American grocers, druggists, 
booksellers and fancy goods stores, also tailors, hotels 

170 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 171 

and restaurants. So large a number of Americans are 
collected in the capital that there is an extensive American ) 
quarter, where there are modern houses and flats, an Ameri- / 
can club and several American churches. 

During the winter season several of our railway com- 
panies advertise Mexico extensively as a winter paradise. 
They give away tens of thousands of beautifully illustrated 
booklets describing the wonders of the land. They run 
cheap excursion trains to Mexico and bring down thousands 
of sight-seeing tourists, most of whom come from the West- 
ern states. The newspapers in Mexico City publish, every 
day, lists of people stopping at the various hotels. I 
noticed that the American visitors usually came from 
such places as Kalamazoo, Mich., Tombstone, Arizona, 
Cross Roads, Iowa, or Jay town City, Neb. To most of 
these people Mexico must certainly seem a land of won- 
ders; they have never been in Europe, and for the first 
time in their lives they see old churches, cathedrals and 
ruins, and mingle among people who have a different lan- 
guage and strange customs. 

When I first went to Mexico, an old American resident 
told me that I should find it a triste or melancholy country, 
and I really believe I should have found it so had it not 
been for certain of my fellow-citizens that I met. The 
Mexicans, both the Indians and the whites, are far from 
lively people, and their often sullen faces are wont to de- 
press you ; but many Westerners whom I met were so un- 
consciously humorous that they kept up my spirits. 

There was, however, about these Western people an air 
of keen mental alertness which one could not help admiring. 
The men were eager for information concerning the re- 
sources of Mexico, the business opportunities of the country 
and the chances for profitable investment, while the women 
displayed equal energy in their sight-seeing and quest for 



172 MEXICO 

general knowledge. Some business women whom I en- 
countered knew much more about Mexico than the average 
man^ and could talk fluently about the status of its railways^ 
its mines and agricultural developments. 

Among such a large number of Western tourists as annu- 
ally invade Mexico and the increasing number of permanent 
settlers from the Western states, it is not surprising if there 
are a great many rough diamonds whose crude behavior 
often disgraces their country. Unfortunately, the world 
at large often hears far more of the doings of such people 
than of the praiseworthy demeanor of the majority of 
Americans who visit Mexico or make their homes there. 
In the capital, and, in fact, all over Mexico, there are plenty 
of Americans who would be a credit to any country, — cul- 
tured people who respect Mexican prejudices, and take 
the trouble to learn Spanish thoroughly. They are often- 
times ashamed of their crude countrymen, much resenting 
their coarse behavior, which reflects so unpleasantly on 
Americans in general. 

An American newspaper man, for instance, told me that, 
while travelling with a party of his fellow-citizens and 
walking through the streets of a town, they heard the click 
of a sewing-machine in a Mexican house. One of the women 
tourists walked into the patio, looked into the sitting-room 
and then yelled out to the party, ''Why, law me, they've 
actually got a sewing-machine and an American organ in 
here. Why, they're quite civilized." The Mexican family 
sat dumfounded with indignation, but before they had time 
to express it, the intruder disappeared. 

Bad as such cases are, however, there is this to be said, 
that the unpolished American tripper is rarely so offensive 
on his travels as the low-class Englishman whom one so 
often meets in continental Europe. There is usually some- 
thing extremely amusing about the ''bad breaks" of the 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 173 

former, and they are always made with such naivete and 
good nature that you half forgive them because of the hearty 
laugh they occasion. On the other hand, the antics of the 
English 'Arry abroad are almost always certain to excite 
wrath. 

One very gratifying feature of life in Mexico is the 
thoroughly good feeling which exists between Englishmen 
and Americans resident in the Republic. The ties of lan- 
guage and race seem to draw them together. Not only 
are they associated very closely in business but also in the 
social life of the country. In most of the American clubs 
Englishmen and Canadians are also eligible for member- 
ship, and the fraternal feeling which exists between the 
three branches of the English-speaking world shows that 
no paper treaty is needed to bring them into alliance. ^ 

In addition to the American business men and tourists / 
there is a numerous class of Americans in Mexico whom I 
should call ''men with schemes." They hang about the 
American saloons, which are becoming so general, and are 
very much in evidence at the cheaper American hotels. 
Each of them has a scheme with millions in it. Most of 
them carry a chunk of gold or silver ore in their pockets, 
taken from some mine with possibilities of enormous wealth. 
If you enter one of the popular loafing places and listen to 
the conversation of these men, you will hear ''millions of 
dollars" repeated so often that you might imagine yourself 
at a convention of the world's plutocrats. — ^ 

I was seated in the patio of the Iturbide Hotel one day, 
discussing mining with a friend. He left me for a moment, 
and a rather seedy-looking individual, with a strong Western 
accent, sauntered up. "Excuse me, friend," he said, "but 
I overheard you talking about mines. Now, I've got a little 
piece of property away down in Guerrero which is worth 
millions to any man who puts in a few dollars." Here he 



174 MEXICO 

produced the inevitable piece of silver ore from his pocket. 
^'I suppose/' he continued, ^^you ain't acquainted with no 
New York capitalists as would like to go in on a good thing. 
If you could get just a few of your Eastern millionaires in- 
terested, there would be something in it for you as well as 
me." I was obhged shamefacedly to confess to my would- 
be benefactor that my acquaintance with millionaires was 
exceedingly Hmited, and that investors usually required 
better credentials than a small piece of silver ore. 

Most Americans have a firm impression that Mexicans 
love the United States and that ill-will towards us has 
practically disappeared. Impartial observers have, how- 
ever, assured me that a strong anti-American feeling exists 
in some quarters, for which there are several reasons. In 
the first place, many Americans in Mexico are much given 
to boasting that American capital is getting control of all 
the best mines and otherwise acquiring a great hold on the 
country. To this is added the bragging of the low-class 
American — only too common in Mexico — who calls the 
Mexican "si greaser," and is always asserting that a few 
hundred Americans could beat the Mexican army and con- 
quer the land. 

An American resident told me that while he was lunching 
one day in a Mexico City restaurant, he heard a party of 
Westerners discussing the country in very uncomplimentary 
terms. One of them seemed to be interested in a mining 
company, which he thought had been unjustly treated by 
the Mexican government. ''If these d — d greasers don't 
let up on this sort of thing," he said, "we Americans will 
have to teach them another lesson. Why, man, we could 
march a few regiments down here from Texas alone, and 
whip the everlasting stuffing out of them." At a neighbor- 
ing table sat some young Mexicans, two of them sons of 
cabinet ministers^ and all understanding English perfectly. 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 175 

From their looks they did not seem to exactly relish the 
American's remarks. 

Mexicans retaliate for this whenever the chance offers. 
They call Americans ^'gringos/' a term which is said to 
have arisen during the war with the United States in 1846. 
Some Mexicans heard the American sailors singing, ^^ Green 
grow the rashes 0/' and tried to mock them, ^'Gringo" 
being the result. They also get even in more unpleasant 
ways. A German of my acquaintance was summoned as 
a witness in a lawsuit to testify to a man's character. The 
judge said to him, ^^ You are an American, senor." ^^No/' 
replied the German, stating his nationality. ^'Oh, that's 
very different," said the judge. He then apologized • for 
summoning him, put a few questions and told him he was 
at liberty to go, adding more apologies. A friend of his^ 
an American, was next called. '^ What is your nationality, 
senor?" asked the judge. ^^I am an American," was the 
reply. The judge put on a very severe look, asked all sorts 
of unpleasant questions, and kept the poor fellow on the 
rack for about an hour. 

Mexicans, in fact, are becoming so jealous and suspicious 
of Americans that it is likely that this alone may prevent 
any serious revolution occurring after the retirement or 
death of President Diaz. The United States has about 
$750,000,000 invested in Mexico; Great Britain has prob- 
ably $500,000,000; France, Germany and other countries 
also have large sums at stake. If civil war broke out 
in Mexico, the United States, to protect its capitalists 
and Americans resident in the country, and to prevent any 
other power from taking coercive measures in defiance of 
the Monroe doctrine, would undoubtedly march an army 
into Mexico to restore order. Intelligent Mexicans realize 
this very thoroughly, and are anxious that such a thing 
shall never take place. 



176 MEXICO 

All attempts of Mexicans to halt the onward march of 
progress are, however, certain to end in failure. Whether 
Mexicans like it or not, every year is witnessing a more 
pronounced, Americanization of Mexico, more American 
settlers are pouring into the country than ever before, and 
in two more decades their numbers and influence will be 
formidable. With the increasing use of the English lan- 
guage among the people, and the education of the masses, 
old prejudices are gradually disappearing, and the com- 
mercial and social ties between Americans and Mexicans 
are steadily drawing them closer. It is never safe to 
prophesy unless you know ; but it would not be strange if, 
under these conditions, an Americanized Mexico should 
some day — perhaps in twenty-five years, or so — become 
peacefully annexed to the United States. 

In France every person who speaks English is called 
English. I have seen Parisian gamins point at American 
tourists and heard them remark, ''Regardez les Anglais." 
That is because there are more English than Americans 
in Paris. In Mexico it is just the reverse. There are more 
Americans than English, and consequently every person 
who speaks English is called an American. The natives 
cannot detect any difference. I was once walking through 
the Plaza in the capital when I heard an Englishman, who 
owned an awful Cockney accent, abusing a cabman for 
overcharging him, and dropping more h's than centavos. 
One of a party of Mexican loafers standing near by, pointed 
at the Britisher and remarked, ''El Americano no le gusta 
perder su dinero " (The American doesn't like to lose his 
money) . 

Americans are not only gradually Americanizing Mexico, 
but they are also altering the names of Mexican towns and 
districts. The Spaniards abbreviated many of the Indian 
names after the Conquest, and now the Americans are mak- 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 177 

ing them still shorter. For example, the City of Mexico 
is now generally called Mexico City by Enghsh-speaking 
people. The name certainly has the virtue of being more 
concise. Mexicans simply call the city Mexico. Popo- 
catepetl, a difficult name to pronounce, has been shortened 
by Americans to '^Popo." Ixtaccihuatl is known as ^'Ixy." 
Some day Guanajuato and Guadalajara will probably be 
known as ^^Wahno" and "Wadly." 

The other foreign peoples in Mexico are chiefly Spanish, 
French, German and English, and in a proportion accord- 
ing to that order. Of course the foreign element is more 
noticeable in the capital than in the rest of the country. 
The Spaniards in Mexico are chiefly engaged in the grocery 
trade; the French confine themselves to drapery, the sale 
of fancy articles, tailoring and dressmaking; the Germans 
are bankers, and have almost a monopoly of the hardware 
trade. The cheap German-made goods are eagerly bought. 
I myself purchased a pocket-knife which attracted me by 
the somewhat pretty medallion let into the handle, dis- 
playing the face of a dark-eyed senorita. I thought I had 
captured an example of Mexican industry, but my delusion 
did not last long. During my travels I happened to meet 
a German^' drummer," and on showing him this knife as a 
specimen of Mexican skill he burst out laughing. "Vy, 
mein friendt," he said, ''I sold dose knives. Dey vas made 
by mein firm in Berlin." 

The trade of Mexico is to-day chiefly controlled by the 
United States and Germany, the latter country having 
of late shown wonderful enterprise. German drummers 
are encountered almost everywhere, all of them speaking 
Spanish fluently. The catalogues of German firms, too, 
are always printed in Spanish, the prices given in Mexican 
currency, and the goods are specially designed for Mexican 
trade. British trade was once supreme in Mexico, but owing 



178 MEXICO 

to lack of proper methods on the part of EngHsh firms, this 
proud position has long been lost. 

With decreased business interests the British colony in 
the capital is naturally a small one, chiefly comprising the 
managers of several important British companies and their 
subordinates. But while British influence in Mexico has 
thus declined, that of Canada, strangely enough, has cor- 
respondingly increased. Canada's stake in the country has 
recently become so large in mines and other enterprises, 
in fact, that it has been found necessary to appoint a 
Canadian commercial agent whose duty it is to safeguard 
Canada's vested interests and to report to the Dominion 
government on openings for capital, etc. The great 
Electric Light and Power Company, which supplies Mexico 
City, is a Canadian corporation. Canadian banks are 
rapidly extending their business in the country, and Cana- 
dians share with Americans the financing of the electric 
and street railway business. A Canadian company owns 
the Mexico City street-car lines, and Canadian investors 
are now taking a leading interest in water-power schemes. 

The Mexican is not born to be a business man. He is 
not possessed of any gifts of invention or initiative, and 
he detests the hustle and worry of commercial life. Nearly 
all commerce is, therefore, in the hands of foreigners. All 
the modern improvements in Mexico have been established 
by them and with their capital. 

In this connection it may be remarked that a fact which 
impresses most visitors in Mexico is the number of foreign 
clerks that are employed in American, English and Canadian 
offices, oftentimes in places where it would seem that 
Mexicans would do much better. Many of the foreign 
firms which employ young Mexicans complain, however, 
that they are lazy and frivolous. Of course there is a great 
deal in the point of view; and perhaps a Frenchman, an 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 179 

Italian or a Spaniard of the same Latin race would not find 
these young fellows so light-headed and inefficient as do 
Anglo-Saxons. It is also true that many young Mexicans 
who have been educated in England or the United States 
are attaining a high position in the professional and busi- 
ness life of the RepubHc. Nevertheless, the fact remains 
that most of the younger natives think too much about 
sefioritas, bull-fights and gambling and too little about 
their work ; in short, they do not take life seriously enough. 
An American railway manager said to me : '^ It is impossible 
to get a young Mexican to assume any responsibility or take 
any initiative. He has to be told the same thing over and 
over again. I would rather have one bright young Ameri- 
can in my office than three average Mexicans." 

The exports of Mexico are mainly silver, gold, copper 
and other minerals; hemp, mahogany, cedar and dye- 
woods, tobacco, coffee, hides, india-rubber, fruit, vanilla, 
etc. Those who have not travelled in the country can have 
no conception of its marvellous richness. Possessing every 
range of climate, and soils capable of producing every 
variety of fruit, vegetable and flower; with mineral wealth 
of amazing extent ; and with vast areas peculiarly adapted 
for sheep and cattle, it is indeed a land of wonders. But 
although so potentially wealthy, Mexico is still in her in- 
fancy as regards the development of her resources. The 
success of foreign companies and the large and steady divi- 
dends they are able to pay are proving that the land of the 
Aztecs is a profitable field for investment. It must year 
by year become more so; but a fraction of its wondrous 
resources have been tapped, and under its present firm 
government the country is always going forward and must 
have a magnificent destiny. 

An interesting feature of Mexico is the number of children 
of American and English parentage who are growing up 



180 MEXICO 

all over the country and are bound to exercise a great in- 
fluence on its future. Born and educated in Mexico, they 
are likely to make their homes there; and as they speak 
both English and Spanish, the Mexican children with whom 
they play imbibe their ideas of freedom and progress. 
Many Mexicans holding a high position in the Republic 
are of British or American descent, notably Sefior Creel, 
the Mexican Ambassador to the United States, and Senor 
Pankhurst, governor of the State of Zacatecas. 

Very few English or Americans marry Mexican women, 
but a large number of Germans do so. The Germans affiliate 
with the Mexicans much better than do the English or 
Americans, one reason for which is that they go to Mexico 
to establish their permanent residence there, while most 
Americans and Englishmen wish only to make their' fortunes 
and then to return to their native lands. While travelling 
in Mexico I frequently heard little Teutons — boys and 
girls — with flaxen hair and blue eyes, speaking Spanish 
fluently. They were the children of Germans with Mexican 
wives. These German-Mexican children usually speak 
three languages, German, Spanish and English; but they 
seem to become much more Mexicanized than the American 
or English children brought up in Mexico. All the Euro- 
pean children of whole or half blood reared in Mexico appear 
to suffer from the climate, having a general look of sickli- 
ness, with pale, colorless faces. 

Mexico is a tempting land for the ' business man, as it 
offers him large profits, for the most part easily made. The 
salaries, too, for commercial clerks and skilled laborers, 
engineers, etc., are a great deal higher than those obtainable 
in Europe. On the other hand, the cost of living is far 
greater. For the unskilled worker, the mere clerk or the 
day laborer, Mexico offers no opportunities. The man 
who has the best chance there is the small capitalist with 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 181 

about ten thousand dollars, who is careful in his invest- 
ments. At first he must work harder than he would at 
home; but if he is steady, he will scarcely fail to get on. 
First of all he must learn the ways of the country and to 
speak Spanish. Of the easier ways of making money the 
best are storekeeping, any sound manufacture, cattle-rais- 
ing, timber, tobacco, sugar and coffee, fruit farms, rubber 
and mining. The country is so vast and the districts which 
are being opened up by the railways are so fertile and so 
rich in minerals that there is an almost unlimited demand 
for foreign capital throughout Mexico. 

During my stay in Mexico I came across some wonderful 
instances of men of small means having become wealthy. 
One of the leading bankers of Mexico City, a Canadian, was 
formerly a railway conductor, and is now one of the richest 
men in the country. Another Canadian, who is the lead- 
ing druggist in the capital, and has stores all over Mexico, 
came down only a few years ago with a small stock of 
patent medicines and started in a humble way. The pro- 
prietor of the biggest hardware establishment — equalling 
any store of the kind in the United States — is an enter- 
prising German who was a drummer only a short time ago. 
A clerk who had a salary of a hundred dollars a month and 
bought a small mining property which proved to be a bo- 
nanza is now one of the wealthiest men in southern Mexico. 

The Mexican laws affecting investors are generous and, 
as a rule, are fairly administered, everything possible being 
done to avoid prejudicing foreign interests. If, therefore, 
Americans only realized the opportunities Mexico affords 
for the investment of capital there would soon be so much 
money forthcoming from this country that our national 
stake in Mexico's prosperity would be even greater than it 
already is. 

There are several foreign quarters in Mexico City, the 



182 MEXICO 

largest of these being the American, already referred to, 
which is situated in the vicinity of the Paseo de la Reforma. 
In and about this quarter most of the English and Canadians 
also reside and fraternize with the Americans. The Mexi- 
can Herald devotes almost a page every day to the doings 
of the American colony, its dances, receptions and other so- 
cial functions. There are also German, Italian and French 
quarters, but not so much is heard of them. All along the 
Paseo wide asphalted streets are being laid out, planted 
with grass-plots and double rows of trees. Three new 
districts, known as the Colonia Reforma, the Colonia Roma 
and Colonia Santa Maria, have been built up with American 
capital, and during the past ten years the value of land has 
advanced nearly a thousand per cent, many lucky investors 
having made large fortunes. 

Strange to say, very few of the modern houses have fire- 
places or any other system of heating. Americans, who 
always have their houses well heated at home, evidently 
prefer to follow the Mexican custom and sit about shiver- 
ing. I heard a good story of a young Englishman who 
occupied a fiat in the American colony, and, determin- 
ing to be comfortable, installed an American stove. His 
rooms were so cosey that his friends increased rapidly ; men 
got into the habit of saying, ''Let's go round to Smith's 
place, it's so comfortable." The Briton had only a small 
income, but he fell in love with a wealthy American's daugh- 
ter. When she broke the news to her stern parent, to her 
surprise, he said, ''Marry him, my daughter, with my 
blessing. I like that young fellow. He knows enough to 
make a comfortable home for himself, and he is bound to 
make one for his wife." The truth was that the old gentle- 
man had been one of the most frequent callers at Smith's 
flat on cold nights, and was determined not to lose such a 
comfortable lounging place. 



THE FOREIGN INVASION 183 

An outgrowth of American social life in the capital is 
the Country Club, which has a fine club-house at Cheru- 
busco, a beautiful suburb. It stands in the midst of large 
grounds and on the borders of a lake, clear as crystal, fed 
from an artesian well. While the golf links are the chief 
attraction, cricket, tennis, football and other sports are 
enjoyed. 

American business men have an American business club 
in the city, and English residents have established the 
British Club. Football matches between American and 
English teams formed of members of the two clubs fre- 
quently take place during the winter season. The Germans 
have the finest men's club, a large new building with a 
splendid gymnasium, a bowling alley, a beer hall, and 
other Teutonic attractions. The Spaniards and French 
also have their clubs, the largest Spanish club being the 
Casino Espaiiol, with eight hundred members, which occu- 
pies a fine old mansion, rivalling the famous Jockey Club. 
Even the Chinese have established a club of their own, 
which has a membership of nearly four hundred. 



CHAPTER X 

THE WHITE man's BURDEN-BEARER 

Wherever the traveller goes in Mexico, he finds himself 
face to face with the Indian peon, the laborer of the country, 
who is a distinctive feature of Mexican life. One sees him 
in the cities in his ragged clothing and tattered sarape, 
bewaring heavy burdens through the streets, carrying loads 
of bricks up among the scaffoldings of new buildings, or, 
as an itinerant vendor, hawking his fruit, charcoal and other 
commodities. In the country districts the peon is the farm 
laborer, and in the mines he can be seen bringing out the 
heavy loads of gold and silver ore which make dividends 
for foreign investors. 

Although the real natives of Mexico, the great masses, 
are called Indians, the name gives a very erroneous im- 
pression to the average reader. The term " Indian " usually 
calls up a mental picture of a North American red man with 
painted face and feathered head-dress; whereas, there is 
almost as much difference between the Mexican and North 
American Indians as there is between an Esquimau and 
an Arab. Instead of being hunters, as were theip fiercer 
neighbors in the North, the Mexican Indians have always 
been an agricultural people. 

At the time of the Conquest, Mexico was inhabited by 
several Indian nations under separate governments, and 
all speaking different dialects. The Aztecs, for instance, 
held the Valley of Mexico under Montezuma; the Tlax- 
calans formed a Republic around what is now the City of 

184 



THE WHITE man's BURDEN-BEARER 185 

Puebla; the Zapotecs were all-powerful in southern Mexico. 
Even to-day there are no less than forty tribes and their 
branches, speaking, it is said, some one hundred and fifty 
different languages; and while most of these people also 
speak a crude Spanish, there are districts where little if 
any Spanish is understood. It is said that within a short 
distance of Mexico City there are still surviving full-blooded 
descendants of the Aztecs, speaking a language which is 
almost the pure ancient tongue. All these Indian tribes 
suffered subjection at the hands of the Spaniards, and were 
lumped together under the term of ^^ peons," which literally 
meant slaves. Their descendants, suffering from the evil 
effects of previous generations of slavery and degradation, 
form the bulk of the lower classes in modern Mexico. The 
name " peon " still clings to them, for although Mexico abol- 
ished slavery long ago, the peons of to-day are often noth- 
ing but bondsmen. 

Just as their languages differ, so, too, the physical ap- 
pearance of the Mexican Indians is often dissimilar. One 
tribe will have the typical angular face and high cheek- 
bones of the Mongolian peoples, with the small, straight 
nose which one sees in a Malay. Another Indian, from a 
different part of the country, will have a round face and 
a broad, bridgeless nose, and a mouth often large, with 
full lips. On the other hand, two or three tribes, such as 
the Yaquis, a wild, unconquered race living in Sonora in 
northern Mexico, have the dark skin and coarse features 
of the mulatto. The great mass of the Indians in central 
Mexico, however, and especially those seen in and about 
the capital, usually have intensely black hair and eyes, 
yellowish brown complexions and are slight in stature, 
bearing a strong resemblance to Japanese peasants, some- 
times even having a slight obliquity of the eyes. In some 
of the tribes one is much impressed with this likeness to 



186 MEXICO 

the Chinese or Japanese, and it is certainly a fact that if 
the Orientals were dressed in Mexican style they might 
easily pass for Indians. It is said that students of languages 
have found some resemblance between the Mexican tongues 
and various languages of the Far East. Be that as it may, 
there is much in Mexico which suggests very close ties with 
the Orient, and some of the ancient sculptures apparently 
show distinct Chinese features. 

In no part of the Republic is there a more remarkable 
physical difference among the Indians than is to be found 
among the Mayans of Yucatan, their appearance being very 
different from that of the typical Mexican Indian. They 
are of a red, bricky tint, are much darker than the others, 
also a good deal shorter, broad-headed, muscular and 
usually have quite a remarkable development of the chest. 
They are characterized, too, by a very sunny disposition. 
Nothing is easier than to make a Mayan laugh, while it 
would seemingly be a hopeless task to get a smile from the 
sullen, sad faces of most of the other Mexican Indians one 
sees at work or at play. 

The Mayans had, it is declared, reached quite a high 
state of civilization when the Spaniards came. It is a 
historical fact that the conquest of Yucatan cost the 
Spaniards more in blood and treasure than did the rest of 
Mexico. To the Mayans are attributed the very remarkable 
ruins in Yucatan. At the time of the conquest they had 
a system of writing, had made some advances in literature, 
and in their temples were great numbers of manuscripts. 
These were ruthlessly destroyed by the Spaniards in their 
efforts to stamp out Mayan civilization, and the historical 
records of the race were thus lost. The Mayan language, 
however, is still spoken by three hundred thousand people, 
and many of the white inhabitants of Yucatan use it to 
a greater extent than Spanish. 




THE ANCIENT RACE. 
Types of Mexican Indians, young and old. 



THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN-BEABEB 187 

The various Indian races in Mexico to-day number many 
millions, those of pure blood constituting one-third of the 
population, while fully half the Mexicans are those of mixed 
blood known as meztizos. Many Indians of pure blood 
and a still greater number of meztizos have played an im- 
portant part in Mexican history. Several Mexican presi- 
dents, among whom were Guerrero and Juarez, were pure 
Indians, while the majority of the others were half-breeds. 

It is from this great Indian population that the peon, the 
Mexican workingman, has been evolved, and Mexico could 
not do without him. He not only cultivates the soil, works 
in the mines and does all the hard labor, but he also acts 
as servant. Despite his many faults, he has some wonder- 
fully good qualities. Even if he is not naturally cleanly 
or naturally honest, there is a charm all his own in the 
simple, whole-hearted way in which he accepts his sub- 
ordinate position. Always polite, and incapable of taking 
a liberty, always with his hat in his hand, the Indian has 
nothing but respect to show you, if you give him the hum- 
ble wage he claims, a half holiday now and again, and per- 
mission to attend any and every fiesta celebrated in his 
village. Notwithstanding his dirt, his tattered clothes, 
his battered sombrero and his filthy blanket, the Mexican 
Indian is one of nature's gentlemen, if he is only treated 
properly. 

But he has his faults, and they are faults which have 
seriously checked progress in Mexico. He is essential to 
agriculture, yet his tropical surroundings and his mental 
characteristics unfit him for energetic work or the adoption 
of modern improvements. As a farmer the Indian is a 
rank failure. He brings no intelligence to his work. His 
ancestors hundreds of years ago scratched the soil with 
a wooden hoe, and he is content enough to go on with the 
same implement. If a society were formed for presenting 



188 MEXICO 

every Indian peon with a modern plough^ it would do no 
good; he wouldn't care to use it, and he wouldn't use it. 
His ideal of life is to be idle ; he does not want to struggle ; 
he does not want to fight; he only desires his little mud- 
brick hut; his piece of ground, his pig, his tortillas and his 
frijoles. Furniture he does not need, as his household 
goods are generally limited to a tin can for boiling water 
or cooking, a couple of stones for making tortillas, a few 
picturesque jars made by the native potters and a few 
old sacks to sleep on. His wants being easily supplied, 
there is really no incentive for him to be progressive. He 
cannot read or write, is unable to think, and his mode of 
life is primeval in its simplicity. 

The Indian in the tropical region of Mexico is especially 
slothful. All he needs is enough to eat, a thatched hut and 
a little cotton cloth. The hut he can make himself; there 
are fish in the river and game in the forest. There is 
plenty of unoccupied land upon which he can raise a little 
maize for food or to trade for such simple luxuries as coffee, 
sugar and tobacco. There is no winter to provide against, 
and though rainy days often come, they only mean more 
rest. Consequently, the tropical Indian is seldom a hireling. 

Mentally and physically lethargic, the peon of central 
Mexico has been for years little more than a slave, in spite 
of his very slender wants. The system which is called 
peonage is very subtle and it is very simple. The peon 
receives so scant a wage that he has nothing left after his 
humble wants have been satisfied. He usually earns from 
fifteen to fifty cents a day, and being very improvident 
is always without money. On all the haciendas or large 
estates he is compelled to deal at the hacienda store, being 
encouraged to be extravagant in his orders. This is de- 
liberate on the part of the proprietors, the haciendados, 
because, by the law of Mexico, as long as an Indian workman 



THE WHITE MAN'S BUEDEN-BEAEER 189 

owes his employer a dollar he is the latter's chattel, and must 
go on working for him till he has paid off his debt. 

But the haciendado takes great care that the debt is never 
paid off, and as very few Indians on big estates are allowed 
to owe less than twenty dollars, the haciendado may feel 
quite easy in his mind about his human property. If the 
estate changes hands, the debt is sold to the new master, 
the peons passing into his possession just as would the cattle 
in the farmyard when stock was being sold. As against 
this tyranny, one must remember that the haciendado has 
to furnish medical attendance, pay fees on marriages, burials, 
etc., and that when he is old the peon must be looked after 
and given the necessities of life. It is therefore as much 
to the advantage of the employer to keep the peon in good 
health as it is in the interest of a sheep farmer to keep his 
flocks from foot-rot, so that, after all is said and done, the 
easy-going, sweet-mannered peon is little more than a beast 
of burden. 

But if he is cheap, the peon needs humoring. He will 
only work in one way, the most laborious, old-fashioned 
and slow way, and he will not work even in that way unless 
he is watched. Then, too, he is obdurate in the matter 
of fiestas. The Mexican calendar fairly bristles with 
fiestas and saints' days, and as the main feature of these 
celebrations is an indulgence in such cheap spirits as tequila 
and mescal, the peon insists on knocking off work and tak- 
ing part in them. Sunday, of course, is also a day of rest, 
and most peons need Monday to recover from the effects 
of the hbations of the Sabbath. Therefore the average 
Indian will probably not do more than two hundred days' 
work in the year. 

Although so conscientious in keeping the various holy 
days of the Catholic church, the religion of the average peon 
is usually intermixed with the grossest superstition, and 



190 MEXICO 

amounts to sheer idolatry. Various shrines, pictures and 
statues are beUeved by him to possess supernatural powers, 
and he worships them with a remarkable intensity of de- 
votion. While displaying all this reverence for the emblems 
of Christianity, it is said that the Indians in some remote 
villages also worship their ancient idols, and sometimes 
sacrifice lambs or fowls to win the favor or appease the 
wrath of these pagan deities. The priests try to put a stop 
to these practices, but they still continue. Passion plays, 
flagellation and other mediaeval religious customs flourish 
among the Indian population, to whom the weird and 
horrible always strongly appeal. As an instance' of this, 
F. Hopkinson Smith thus describes a penitential scene 
which he witnessed in a Mexican church: ^'A score of 
Indian women," he says, ^' were kneeling upon mats of green 
rushes spread on the stone floor of the church, their cheeks 
hollow from fasting, and their eyes glistening with that 
strange glassy look peculiar to half-starved people. Over 
their shoulders were twisted black rebosas, and round each 
head was bound a veritable crown of thorns. In their 
hands they held a scourge of plaited needles. They had 
sat there day and night, without moving, for nearly a week. 
This terrible ceremony occurs once a year in Passion week. 
The penance lasts eight days. Each penitent pays a sum 
of money for the privilege, and her name and number is 
then inscribed upon a sort of tally board which is hung on 
the cloister wall. Upon this is also kept a record of the 
punishment. The penitents supply their blankets and 
pillows and the mats upon which they rest their weary 
bones. The priest furnishes everything else — a little 
greasy gruel and the stone pavement." 

The greatest inhumanities from which the Mexican 
Indians suffer are those which result from the transporta- 
tion of labor to the plantations in the tropical parts of the 



THE WHITE man's BUBBEN-BEAREU 191 

country. In such tropical places as Tehuantepec, life 
is very simple and cheap for the local Indian, and he will 
not work. But work must be done, and therefore hundreds 
of peons are hoodwinked into signing on as laborers and 
transported to the tropics from the more temperate parts 
of Mexico. There are agents at work all over the country 
picking them up and deporting them. The unfortunate 
Indians contract to work for six months for twenty-five 
cents a day, with their food, tortillas, beans, rice and a little 
meat on Sundays. Of course they at once get into debt at 
the hacienda store, and they are never allowed to get out 
again. Armed guards are posted at the hacienda entrances 
to stop any attempt at escape. Hundreds of these poor 
creatures, accustomed to cooler climates, die off of fever. 

Being utterly without ambition, the Indians have no / 
desire to improve their condition or educate their families. ' 
None of them can be trusted with money; in a few hours 
most of them will drink and gamble away the earnings of 
months. The great aim of the average peon is to earn a 
little money, sufficient to supply him with tortillas and 
frijoles and the opportunity to see an occasional bull-fight 
or enjoy a little gambling. As long as he has a penny in his 
pocket he will not work, and even when his money is gone, 
the word ^^manana" (meaning to-morrow, but in fact 
some more convenient time) springs instinctively to his lips. 
Untruthfulness is universal among Indians of the lower 
orders, and in the capital most of them are petty thieves. 
Very few of them have the slightest conception of morality] 
from the Anglo-Saxon point of view. '^^^^^ 

Gambling, as already remarked, is one of the Indian's 
worst vices, and his favorite medium of risking his hard- 
earned coin is cock-fighting. For this sport he has a pas- 
sionate love. Fighting cocks are familiar objects every- 
where, and can often be seen outside the Indian huts, 



192 MEXICO 

tied by the leg to a stake. Victorious birds are carried 
about from village to village, to make up fights upon which 
the improvident Indians will wager their last pennies. 
The sport as practised in Mexico is extremely cruel, thin 
steel blades or spurs, as sharp as a razor, being attached 
to the birds' claws. One of the combatants will often be 
despatched at the first stroke; sometimes the birds will 
fight several rounds, hacked and bleeding, before the fray 
ends. 

In spite of his poverty and his numerous bad traits, 
the Indian is extremely generous. If he has no tortillas 
or frijoles, some of his neighbors have, and they will gladly 
share with him, for conditions may be reversed to-morrow. 
Although his cruelty to animals is notorious, his love for 
children is just as marked. It is a common sight to see 
a peon in the street, with but two pieces of cotton clothing 
to his back, stop a woman with a baby in her arms, and 
holding the child's face between both hands, deliver a re- 
sounding smack and chuck it under the chin. His polite- 
ness is that of a cavalier. In the most unaffected manner 
the young Indian will take his battered straw sombrero 
from his head and reverently kiss the hand of some ancient 
relative, in a tattered dress, when he happens to meet her. 
To hear these unwashed, ragged folk exchanging graceful 
compliments in choice Spanish is oftentimes grotesque. 
Centuries of oppression have degraded the peon, but when 
given opportunity, he often displays great talent in the arts 
and crafts, and when educated, many of them are very 
bright. Among the Indian masses the spread of education 
is necessarily slow, but it is destined, in time, to put an 
end to the repulsive aspects of peonage. 

The Indian man has a fitting mate in the Indian woman, 
who is not a wholesome-looking person. Nearly all the 
women are small, plump and slatternly, with tousled hair, 



THE WHITE man's BURDEN -BEABEB 193 

their dresses torn and dirty, their general appearance being 
reminiscent of gypsies. Some of the girls are handsome 
enough ; but the hardness and monotony of their lives make 
them old women before their time, and an Indian maiden 
of thirty is often simply a bent and wrinkled hag. Early 
marriages are the rule, girls of fourteen in some cases being 
married to boys of sixteen, after which they become mere/ 
household drudges. In many places the immorality which ^ 
exists is appalling, polygamy being quite general, marriages 
seldom taking place and kinship being disregarded. The 
Mexican government, with the aid of the church, is en- 
deavoring to put an end to these deplorable conditions. 

Large families are the rule among the Indian population, 
a childless woman being very rare; but most of the chil- 
dren, through neglect, die in infancy. Like their husbands, 
the women are invariably dull-witted and unprogressive. 
Even in those parts where flour is available, they will 
continue every morning to pound their corn on the metate 
and bake the tortillas, for they would scorn the American 
idea of having one big bake and getting it over. They 
have few virtues save their devotion to their husbands 
and children ; but many of them are not unskilful in fancy 
work, being able to follow the most elaborate designs, doing 
also really delicate and pretty work on handkerchiefs and 
linens. 

Whatever his racial weaknesses may be, there is no doubt 
that the degeneracy of the native and the degrading con- 
ditions under which he often lives, especially in the cities, 
are mainly due to drink. Every centavo the Indian can 
scrape together is spent on pulque and mescal. To take 
Mexico City as typical of the drink evil, some idea can be 
gathered of its extent when one realizes that there are 
considerably more than a thousand pulque shops in the 
city, and these sell over seven hundred thousand litres of 



194 MEXICO 

pulque every day. Four trains loaded with cans of this 
evil liquid arrive from the country every morning. As it is 
scarcely ever tasted by Mexicans of the middle or upper 
classes, practically the whole of this vast quantity of drink 
is consumed by the Indian population. It acts upon them 
as a poison, and there is little doubt that by its means 
their natural laziness and stupidity have been increased a 
hundred-fold, till they have lost all ambition and have 
reached a point of animal degradation from which it seems 
almost hopeless they will ever recover. 

Pulque is cheap, a glass of it costing half a cent, a large 
glass a cent, while the miserable Indian toper can buy a 
small barrel of it for a quarter of a dollar. The usual 
method of the drinking Indian is first to take several glasses 
of pulque and then top off with mescal. This changes him 
into a madman, and it has constantly happened that an 
Indian under these conditions has run amuck, drawn his 
knife and stabbed and slashed at every one he has met. 
Most of the murders in Mexico City are due to drink. Pul- 
querias, as the drinking shops are called, are for the most 
part located in the low quarters of the town, and are reek- 
ing, foul-smelling dens with earthen floors, the state of 
which had best not be inquired into. These bar-rooms 
are decorated and painted in a very strange way, brightly 
colored tissue paper and flags of all tints adorning them 
without as well as within. The outside walls of these 
are usually covered with pictures of warriors, chariots, 
battles, and even martyrs and saints, daubed over them 
in gay colors. One pulque shop in Tacubaya is famous 
for its picturesque appearance, the outer walls being cleverly 
painted with birds and tropical flowers by a native artist. 

The pulque shops all have names, and professional hu- 
morists seem to have invented them. There are, for in- 
stance, El Serpenton (the Enormous Snake), Hospital de 



THE WHITE man's BURDEN-BEARER 195 

Crudos (Hospital for Thirsty Men), Hogar Feliz (Abode of 
Bliss) , Amor Fraternal (Brotherly Love) and Paraise Terrestre 
(Earthly Paradise). I had an impression that the places 
last named were possibly the resort of saintly minded 
natives; but one morning I read in the newspaper that a 
peon had been slashed with knives in the Abode of Bhss, 
and the police had cracked several skulls in quelling a riot 
in Brotherly Love. 

Some gushing writers assert that the Mexican Indians 
are miracles of cleanliness, but I regret to say that I saw 
very few indications of it during my travels. In the tropi- 
cal regions, where water is plentiful, the Indians do keep 
clean, and most of them take a dip in some stream or river 
at least once a day. In the highlands, however, where 
the water-courses are dry for the greater part of the year, 
the Indians never take a bath ; and you will often see them 
by the roadside picking vermin from each other as monkeys 
do. The peons of the temperate zone seem, in fact, to 
have a deep-rooted horror of soap and water. As a religious 
duty they must bathe once a year on St. John the Baptist's 
Day (el dia de San Juan Bautista), on June 24. This is 
the only bath the poorer classes take during the year, and 
if they miss it they wait until the next year. Most of them 
look and smell as if they had missed every year since they 
were born. In Mexico City the disgusting rags of the peons 
are oftentimes indecent and expose the body. 

Peons, especially in the small towns and country places, 
are, as I have observed, usually very stupid. When visiting 
Puebla, I asked several if they could direct me to the post- 
office, but was unable to make any of them understand, al- 
though the policemen whom I asked understood me well 
enough and directed me correctly. An American after- 
wards told me that the peons probably called the post- 
office (Casa de Correos) some such name as ^'The place 



196 MEXICO 

where you put letters" or ''buy stamps." Many of them 
had probably never bought a stamp or mailed a letter in 
their lives^ and having no need to go to the post-office, did 
not even know its name. 

In the same way they seldom learn the names of English- 
men or Americans, but when talking among themselves 
designate the foreigners by some personal peculiarity. 
Mr. Smith, the Englishman, for instance, may be called ''El 
caballero Ingles con la barba roja" (The English gentleman 
with the red beard) ; while Mr. Scroggs, the American, will 
be known as "El caballero Americano con nariz grande " 
(The American gentleman with the big nose) . Unless you 
discover these terms, you may inquire in vain among the 
peons for Messrs. Smith and Scroggs, for you will never find 
them. 

It was this peon peculiarity which led to the very amusing 
adventure of an Englishman who was travelling in southern 
Mexico. He went several weary miles out of his way to 
visit an old acquaintance who was living in a town some 
distance from the railway. On his arrival, he made in- 
quiries for his friend, but to his surprise found that nobody 
had ever heard of him. The last place at which he inquired 
was a large general store, and as it was Saturday, the place 
was crowded with peons doing their marketing. The 
proprietor of the store had never heard of the Englishman 
for whom the traveller was searching. A peon, however, 
who looked much more intelligent than the other Indians, 
had overheard the conversation, and he stepped up. "Con 
permiso, sefior — with your permission, sir," he said, "I 
believe I know the senor you are looking for. He is called 
Senor Perez." "No," replied the traveller, "that cannot 
be, unless he has changed his name." He mentioned the 
name, which was rather a long one. The peon, however, 
still insisted that Senor Perez was the missing man and pro- 




PKESIDENT DIAZ. 

A striking portrait of Mexico's great ruler. 



THE WHITE man's BURDEN-BEARER 19T 

ceeded to describe him so accurately that the Englishman 
was convinced that it must either be his friend or some- 
• body having a wonderful resemblance to him. The peon 
offered to guide the traveller to the abode of Senor Perez, 
and they started off, followed by a lot of other Indians who 
had listened intently to the conversation and seemed to 
be much interested in the outcome of the affair. When 
they reached the house of Perez, the Englishman was as- 
tonished to see his old friend seated outside. 

After they had exchanged greetings, the Englishman 
asked with some impatience, ^'How is it that you have 
changed your name to Perez ? " The other laughed heartily. 
^'Well," he said, ''it simply happened in this way: One of 
the storekeepers in the town had a big boxful of Pears' 
soap, for which there was absolutely no sale, for no peon 
would touch it with a ten-foot pole. One day, when I was 
in his place, he offered me the whole lot for about a third 
of its price, so I bought it. The place was crowded with 
Indians when I made my purchase. Now, any peon who 
bought one cake of soap would be regarded as a hero, but 
here was a man actually buying fifty cakes ! Such a man 
must be almost a supernatural being. The news of the 
wonderful Englishman spread like wildfire. None of the 
Indians could pronounce my name, but on the soap-box 
they saw those famous words, 'Pears' Soap;' and con- 
cluding that I must be no less than Mr. Pears himself, they 
forthwith christened me Senor Perez, their nearest ap- 
proach to the name." 



CHAPTER XI 



During my travels in Mexico I entered into conversa- 
tion one day with an old Indian laborer or peon who had 
once served in the army of the Republic. In the course of 
our chat I happened to ask him whom he considered the 
world's greatest man. Raising his tattered straw sombrero, 
with reverential air, he rephed, ''Don Porfirio, senor/' 
and added, "Where can you find his equal?" It was in 
this half-worshipping manner that the old Indian referred 
to President Porfirio Diaz, affectionately known to milHons 
of his fellow-countrymen by the title of Don Porfirio. 

A few weeks after my talk with the peon admirer of 
President Diaz I was walking across the Plaza in Mexico 
City one morning when I noticed a distinguished, soldierly 
looking man riding towards the National Palace. In the 
well-set, military figure, the strong, handsome face, with 
bristling gray moustache and searching brown eyes — I at 
once recognized the President. Hats were raised in respect- 
ful salutation as he rode in this democratic fashion from his 
private residence in the Cadena to his daily work at the 
palace. 

The story of this remarkable man who for thirty years 
has been the president, but really the dictator, and practi- 
cally the uncrowned king of Mexico, reads more like a thrill- 
ing romance than the actual history that it is. 

The son of an innkeeper, Porfirio Diaz was born at 
Oaxaca in southern Mexico on the fifteenth of September, 

198 



MEXICO'S GREAT DICTATOR 199 

1830; and is thus now in his seventy-ninth year. As are 
the majority of his fellow-citizens, he is of mixed Indian 
and Spanish descent, his maternal grandmother having be- 
longed to the Mixteca tribe. When the future ruler of 
Mexico was three years old, his father died, and his mother, 
with her scanty means, had a hard struggle to bring up her 
family of six children. 

Porfirio was intended for the church, and was sent when 
a lad to a Roman Catholic school ; but there was so little 
in common between the boy's nature and ecclesiasticism 
that he soon abandoned the idea of the priestly calHng and 
began to study law. While so engaged, the war between 
the United States and Mexico broke out in 1847 ; the young 
law students promptly formed a battalion for the defence 
of their city, and Diaz took a prominent part in the move- 
ment. At that time the foremost lawyer in Oaxaca was 
Benito Juarez, afterwards to become President of Mexico. 
He was much attracted by the intelligence of young Diaz, 
and gave him work in his office. The youth's progress was 
so rapid and continuous that in a very short time he was 
appointed assistant librarian of Oaxaca, and by means of 
money which he earned as a law tutor, he paid for the com- 
pletion of his own studies and gained a degree. 

Even in those early days, Diaz had shown an interest in 
politics and some signs of that military genius which was 
to win him the headship of his country. When twenty-five, 
he was appointed mayor of the small town of Ixtlan, and 
during his tenure of that office he organized a company of 
militia which afterwards rendered Mexico good service. 
In 1861 he was elected deputy to the Federal Congress. 
It was in the following year that France invaded Mexico 
for the purpose of placing the Archduke Maximilian on the 
throne. Diaz, then thirty-two, had already become a gen- 
eral of brigade. To him was assigned a leading part in the 



200 MEXICO 

defence of Puebla, and to his courage and foresight was due 
the great victory of the fifth of May, when a small force of 
Mexicans under General Zaragoza utterly defeated a large 
French army. 

A year later the French and Austrians captured Puebla, 
and General Bazaine, with a large army, marched to over- 
whelm Diaz. The latter was defeated and taken prisoner 
at Puebla. Refusing to give his parole, he escaped after 
extraordinary adventures to Oaxaca, where he succeeded 
in raising a fresh army for the defence of that city. After 
a short siege he was again compelled to surrender and was 
taken prisoner once more to Puebla, where he was impris- 
oned for seven months. He again succeeded in escaping, 
returned to Oaxaca and collected another army, winning 
thereafter the succession of victories which led up to the 
defeat and execution of Maximilian and the end of the 
empire. 

On the second of June, 1867, Diaz was master of Puebla, 
and later in the month he entered Mexico City at the head 
of a victorious army. His popularity was unbounded, and 
had he cared he could have ousted Juarez from the presi- 
dential chair. He refused, however, to be untrue to his 
chief and patron, and Juarez was reelected. Diaz then 
resigned his commission and retired to Oaxaca. 

In 1871 Juarez's term of office came to an end, and al- 
though he was in failing health and had lost much of his 
popularity, he unwisely obtained reelection. This time 
Diaz had allowed himself to be nominated a candidate, and 
his followers were loud in their complaints that the election 
had not been honestly conducted, and so high did pubHc 
feeling run that civil war was declared. Within a few 
months Juarez died and was succeeded by the president of 
the Supreme Court, Lerdo de Tejada. 

Diaz sold all his property and retired to the United States ; 



MEXICO'S GREAT DICTATOR 201 

but in 1876 he returned to Mexico, gathered around him an 
army of four hundred men and captured Matamoras in the 
northern part of the RepubHc. Hearing that his enemy, 
Lerdo, had sent troops to seize him, Diaz fled to New Orleans, 
but after remaining there a short time he decided to return 
to Mexico. The steamer on which he sailed for Vera Cruz 
— an American vessel — put in at Tampico, and there 
Diaz was recognized by some Mexican officers and soldiers 
who came aboard as passengers. Fearing arrest at Vera 
Cruz, he leaped overboard when the steamer was four miles 
from that port and attempted to swim ashore. He was 
picked up half dead, and the purser, who admired his pluck, 
concealed him for several days in a wardrobe, while the 
Mexican officers, deceived by a story that he had once more 
attempted escape and had been drowned, unsuspectingly 
played cards in the cabin each night. On arrival at Vera 
Cruz, Diaz was smuggled ashore in a launch loaded with 
cargo, disguised as a Mexican soldier, while a detachment 
of troops were keeping watch for him. 

Returning to Oaxaca, Diaz raised an army and marched on 
the capital. He won a decided victory, and entering the city 
on the 24th of November, 1876, assumed the presidency. 
In a very short time he was at work reforming the country ; 
order was speedily restored, brigandage was put down, 
trade was fostered, and everything was done to encourage 
foreign investors. In 1880, in accordance with the provi- 
sions of the Mexican constitution, that no man should hold 
the office of President for two consecutive terms, Diaz was 
succeeded by his close friend, General Gonzalez. The next 
year or two made it quite obvious that the Mexicans could 
be ruled by only one man, and thus when, in 1884, Diaz was 
again elected President, the constitution was altered to 
allow of his being continually the chief of the state. From 
that date to the present day Diaz has been reelected with- 



202 MEXICO 

out a dissentient voice, and although Mexico is a Republic 
nominally, he wields a power practically as autocratic as 
that of a czar. 

The personal appearance of President Diaz is as remark- 
able as has been his career. James Creelman, the well- 
known writer, has recently contributed to Pearson's Maga- 
zine a vivid pen picture of the Mexican autocrat, whom he 
was privileged to see at Chapultepec. He writes : ''A high, 
wide forehead that slopes up to crisp white hair and over- 
hangs deep-set, dark brown eyes that search your soul, 
soften into inexpressible kindliness and then dart quick 
side looks, — terrible eyes, threatening eyes, loving, con- 
fiding, humorous eyes, — a straight, powerful, broad, and 
somewhat fleshy nose, whose curved nostrils lift and dilate 
with every emotion ; huge, virile jaws that sweep from large, 
flat, fine ears set close to the head to the tremendous, square, 
fighting chin ; a wide, firm mouth shaded by a white mous- 
tache ; a full, short, muscular neck ; wide shoulders, deep 
chest ; a curiously tense and rigid carriage that gives great 
distinction to a personality suggestive of singular power 
and dignity, — that is Porfirio Diaz in his seventy-eighth 
year, as I saw him a few weeks ago on the spot where forty 
years before he stood — with his besieging army surround- 
ing the City of Mexico, and the young Emperor Maximilian 
being shot to death in Queretaro, beyond those blue moun- 
tains to the north — waiting grimly for the thrilling end 
and the last interference of European monarchy with the 
repubhcs of America." 

President Diaz is thoroughly democratic in sympathies, 
easy of approach and gives one the impression of sincerity. 
He is rather above the average Mexican height, and his 
whole appearance suggests the Indian blood in his veins. 
A man of the simplest habits, he is perpetually at work, 
going to bed at ten, and at six in the morning at work at 



MEXICO'S GREAT DICTATOR 203 

his desk. In the matter of diet he is simpHcity itself, and 
rarely drinks any wine or spirits. Disliking ceremony, he 
resolutely decUnes to occupy the state apartments in the 
National Palace, living most of the year in a private house 
nearby. He is never satisfied with second-hand knowledge, 
and maintains direct touch with the remotest parts of the 
Republic, almost amazing his cabinet by the fund of infor- 
mation he possesses. 

Any man who wants to see the President and has a good 
reason for so doing will not be disappointed. To all vis- 
itors he shows the same patient courtesy, and many a for- 
eigner who has complained to him of some wrong has found 
him ready to remedy it, and to rebuke those who were guilty 
in the matter. 

Diaz has been twice married, having lost his first wife 
in 1880. They had a son and two daughters. Three years 
later he married the daughter of Romero Rubio, whose full 
name is now Madame Carmen Romero Rubio de Diaz. 
She is a woman of much beauty, and by her natural charm 
of manner and the genuine warmth of her heart has won a 
large place in the affections of the public. She is popularly 
known as 'Tarmelita," and the President and she never 
appear in pubHc without receiving universal marks of af- 
fection and esteem. Devoid of all ceremony, they ride 
and walk together, on Sundays going to church as ordinary 
citizens. They are both devoted to motoring, and make 
long journeys in an American car. President Diaz does 
not understand Enghsh, but Madame Diaz, who was edu- 
cated in the United States, speaks the language fluently. 

Under President Diaz Mexico has made wonderful prog- 
ress. In 1876 the country was bankrupt, a prey to civil 
war, infested with brigands, almost roadless and quite un- 
safe for travellers or settlers. He declared instant war 
upon the bandits, and for the purpose of their extermina- 



204 MEXICO 

tion organized the mounted police known as rurales. He 
very adroitly made a proclamation offering positions in this 
force to those brigands who were willing to surrender and 
swear allegiance to the government. Many of the mis- 
creants took advantage of this amnesty and became the 
inveterate pursuers of their former comrades. In a very 
few years this policy had resulted in brigandage being 
almost stamped out. With the establishment o^ a strong 
central government and a well-organized army, revolutions 
also came to an end. 

Then came the great epoch of railway building. Diaz 
was wise enough to see that railways were what were needed 
to secure the stability of his rule. Railway engineering 
was encouraged, large subsidies were granted, and while in 
1875 the Republic had possessed only three hundred and 
sixty miles of railroad, twenty-six years later there were 
over ten thousand. 

Telegraph and telephone lines all over the country com- 
pleted the centralizing of the government. With these 
wires complete. President Diaz, seated in his room in Mexico 
City, could keep his finger upon the furthest and most tur- 
bulent portions of the Republic, and could learn of embryo 
revolutions while it was possible to put them down with an 
iron hand. It may be said that the thirty years during 
which Diaz has been President have been a period of pro- 
found peace. There have been outbreaks, but they have 
been evanescent, and the personal power of Mexico's won- 
derful ruler, year after year, has borne down all opposition. 

That Diaz has been a blessing to Mexico no one who 
knows her history would venture to deny; but that all 
Mexicans love him is far from being the case. No doubt 
there are many who do, but with the majority the love is 
largely mixed with fear; and recent years have seen the 
uprise of an anti-Diaz party formed of those who resent 




MADAME DIAZ. 
The charming and beautiful wife of Mexico's President. 



MEXICO'S GEE AT DICTATOR 205 

his undoubted autocracy. These discontents form what is 
known as 'Hhe young Mexican party/' and quite recently 
there was reported a serious outbreak in northern Mexico, 
where two secret agents of the Mexican rebels under the 
guise of Baptist missionaries were carrying forward the cru- 
sade in the Mexican States of Coahuila and San Luis Potosi, 
holding what were announced as Baptist missionary ser- 
vices, with special love-feasts for the elect at the conclu- 
sion — the elect being, of course, those who had joined the 
proposed rebellion. Much mystery surrounded the out- 
break and its suppression, and the Mexican authorities 
have obviously been most anxious to keep all details to 
themselves. 

The presidential elections since 1880 have been merely 
a form, the voting, so far as the mass of the people is con- 
cerned, being a farce. The President appoints his own 
cabinet and other important members of the government ; 
the governors of each of the States also owe their appoint- 
ments directly to him. In this way Diaz has surrounded 
himself with a band of placemen, each and all rigidly loyal 
to him personally and entirely identified with his policy. 
The President is no doubt a man of upright nature, has 
always shown himself above mere mercenary ends, is a 
keen judge of men, and has thus been able to gather to- 
gether a number of very able colleagues. 

But able as his cabinet ministers are, it is his word which 
alone prevails. The iron hand which has piloted Mexico 
through difficulties which seem almost insuperable is still 
on her neck. Only recently there occurred an example 
of the almost ferocious methods which President Diaz still 
finds necessary for the good of the country. A strike oc- 
curred in the cotton-mill districts of Orizaba, when the 
strikers raised the red flag of anarchy, destroyed a good 
deal of property and ended by killing several non-striking 



206 MEXICO 

workmen. A few regiments of soldiers soon quelled the 
outbreak, and several hundred strikers were arrested and 
imprisoned. A newspaper man in the capital told me that 
he had seen over two hundred of them in prison one morn- 
ing but the next day they had disappeared. He had se- 
cured strong circumstantial evidence that they were taken 
out and shot. 

While visiting Oaxaca, I heard of a village in the Sierras 
which had a very bad name. There were Indians there who 
had committed many robberies and murdered several 
white men. One day a company of rurales entered the 
place, seized the culprits, about thirty in number, and shot 
them on the spot. Such summary measures as these strike 
terror into the hearts of the lawless, and that is really the 
only way in which Mexico can be governed. Diaz knows 
his country thoroughly. He realizes that foreign capital 
has developed and is developing the Republic, and that 
lawlessness will frighten away investors. Therefore crime 
must be suppressed with an iron hand, and it is better to 
shoot a few criminals without trial than to have the whole 
country suffer for their misdeeds. This rule has made 
Mexico what it is, and it is wholly to Diaz that her present 
splendid prosperity is due. 

Under his stern rule, the progress of Mexico has been 
marvellous. The old Mexican cities have suddenly become 
busy places, with new public buildings, fine shops, asphalted 
streets, electric lights, electric street-cars and other visible 
evidence of modern progress. Remote parts of Mexico, 
where it was once unsafe to travel, are now visited by hun- 
dreds of tourists during the winter months. Railways are 
being extended in all parts of the land, new factories are 
being started, and the resources of the country, agricul- 
tural, mineral, commercial, are being developed to a wonder- 
ful extent. Foreign capital invested in the country has 



MEXICO'S GREAT DICTATOR 207 

leaped from $500,000 to the huge total of $1,400,000,000. 
Welcomed by the govermnent, men with money are swarm- 
ing into Mexico from all parts of the world to engage in 
business, particularly mining ; for the mineral riches of the 
country, its gold, silver and copper, have not been half 
developed. Modern accessories and conveniences are 
being introduced everywhere; adjuncts to civihzation 
which other countries have taken half a century to acquire 
have been installed in Mexico within as many months. 
Electric-light plants, modern drainage systems, water- 
works and such schemes are being pushed forward. Above 
all, the children of the Repubhc are being educated, and the 
Mexican of the future will probably be a self-respecting, 
well-informed type of citizen, thoroughly capable of self- 
government. 

After Diaz, what? That is a question which in these 
years has been asked again and again in Mexico. The 
President is now nearly eighty, and must eventually retire 
or die. From my observations I am convinced that no 
prolonged revolution will ever undo the good that Diaz 
has done. For a generation Mexico has had peace, and the 
former revolutionists have nearly all died. The people 
have learned the benefits of tranquillity, and they are alive 
to the most serious danger which would menace them were 
there to occur any grave civil strife. Under those circum- 
stances it is practically certain that in the interest of Amer- 
ican capital and American residents the United States would 
occupy and possibly ultimately annex Mexico. This for- 
cible destruction of their national integrity patriotic Mex- 
icans are resolved to prevent; and if for no other reason 
than this, they will bury the hatchet and continue to sup- 
port the stable government which will be President Diaz's 
legacy to his country. 

Another reason for the continuance of peace is the fact 



208 MEXICO 

that Mexico is really governed by a sort of ^^ring" or trust, 
with Diaz at the head of it. When he vacates the post, 
the trust will select one of their number to succeed him. 
There are several strong men from whom this choice can 
be made. Chief among them must be mentioned Seiior 
Corral, Vice-President of the Republic, who, unlike most 
vice-presidents, is by no means a man of straw. He is 
Minister of the Interior as well as Vice-President, and joined 
the cabinet in 1904. Another strong man — perhaps the 
strongest of all — is General Reyes, formerly Minister of 
War and now governor of the State of Nuevo Leon. Senor 
Landa y Escandon, governor of the Federal District, is 
very popular with foreigners in the Republic, and is re- 
garded as one of the most enlightened men in Mexico. 
A notable member of the Diaz cabinet is Senor J.Y. Liman- 
tour, French by descent, who speaks and writes English 
as fluently as he does French and Spanish, and is one of the 
most remarkable finance ministers that any country has 
ever produced. In Seiior Fernandez, Minister of Justice, 
General Cosio, Minister of War, Seiior Creel, Ambassador 
to the United States, and others, Mexico possesses a band 
of faithful servants whose personalities are in a marked 
degree a pledge of continued peace. 

There has been a certain danger for Mexico in the pro- 
longed rule of Diaz. The tendency has been as the years 
rolled by to blunt somewhat the wholesome Republican 
control of the government by means of elections. The 
President himself realizes this, and in his recent interview, 
Mr. Creelman reports him as saying: ^'I received this 
government from the hands of a victorious army at a time 
when the people were divided and unprepared for the 
exercise of the extreme principles of democratic govern- 
ment. . . . Though I got power at first from the army, 
an election was held as soon as possible, and then my author- 



MEXICO'S GREAT BICTATOE 209 

ity came from the people. I have tried to leave the Presi- 
dency several timeS; but it has been pressed upon me, and 
I remained in office for the sake of the nation which trusted 
me. ... I have waited patiently for the day when the 
people of the Mexican Republic would be prepared to choose 
and change their government at every election without 
danger of armed revolutions and without injury to the 
national credit or interference with the national progress. 
I believe that day has come. . . . The future of Mexico 
is assured. The principles of democracy have not been 
planted very deep in our people, I fear, but the nation 
has grown and it loves liberty. Our difficulty has been 
that the people do not concern themselves enough about 
public matters. The individual Mexican, as a rule, thinks 
much about his own rights, and is always ready to assert 
them, but he does not think so much about the rights of 
others. He thinks of his privileges but not of his duties. 
Capacity for self-restraint is the basis of democratic gov- 
ernment, and self-restraint is possible only to those who 
recognize the rights of their neighbors." 

The President referred to education as the greatest lever 
of civilization. ^^I want to see education throughout the 
republic carried on by the national government. I hope 
to see it before I die. It is important that all citizens of a 
republic should receive the same training, so that their 
ideals and methods may be harmonized and the national 
unity intensified. When men read alike and think alike, 
they are more likely to act alike." 



CHAPTER XII 

THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT 

Floating over the public buildings of Mexico may be 
seen the national flag of the Republic, a tricolor of red, 
white and green which in some cases bears the arms of 
Mexico, the traditional eagle on the cactus, and the letters 
''E. U. de M." (Estados Unidos de Mexico), meaning the 
United States of Mexico. 

Outside of the Republic this phrase is so seldom heard 
that one is apt to forget that this is the country's political 
title. The Mexican Republic is, in fact, a confederation 
of twenty-seven States, two territories and the Federal 
District in which the capital stands, formed after the pattern 
of the United States of America, each State having a gov- 
ernor and a state legislature. There is also a Federal Con- 
gress, with its place of assembly in Mexico City, which, like 
its prototype at Washington, is composed of a Senate and 
Chamber of Deputies. It meets twice a year; and in it 
each State is represented by two senators, while deputies 
are elected for every forty thousand of the population. 

All this sounds very democratic, but the truth is that the 
Mexican representative system is merely a paper one; 
for the suffrage is so severely limited that only a very small 
percentage of the population are ever allowed to cast votes. 
Politics in Mexico are, in fact, an elaborate sham. There 
is practically no opposition party in the houses, where 
discussions are academic, and can only end in the fulfilment 
of those resolutions which have weeks before been made 

210 




3 MEXICAN STATESMEN. 4 

Some of the able men who form the government of Diaz. 

1. Senor Corral, Vice-President of Mexico. 

2. Senor Mariscal, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 

3. Seiior Fernandez, Minister of Justice. 

4. Senor Limantour, Minister of Finance. 

5. General Bernardo Reyes, Governor of Nuevo Leon. 



THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT 211 

in the Cadena or Chapultepec Castle by the President. 
Under these elaborate political fictions President Diaz 
wisely cloaks his dictatorship. 

To these burlesques of legislative chambers every citizen 
is eligible with the single exception of priests, who are 
excluded from both houses. Senators and deputies are 
each paid at the rate of $1500 a year. The President is 
elected every four years, though, as explained in the pre- 
ceding chapter, this regulation has fallen into abeyance 
for more than twenty years. 

While Mexico has the usual legislative assemblies, it also 
has numerous law courts. These are divided into district 
courts, and at the head of them is the Supreme Court, pre- 
sided over by fifteen judges. The legal procedure is based 
on the Roman law. In the criminal courts cases are con- 
ducted in a manner very similar to that which prevails in 
France. There are judges of instruction, who institute 
proceedings, refer them to the public prosecutor and finally 
present the case before the jury. The latter consists of 
nine persons (thirty are summoned), native or foreign, who 
must have occupations, education or independent means. 
There are also courts of lesser jurisdiction, Hke the American 
police courts, and alcaldes or local magistrates, who ad- 
minister a summary jurisdiction. 

Though all this sounds very well, yet with the possible 
exception of the unfortunate erring peons, no one in Mexico 
ever gets quick justice. In the courts the prevailing rule 
is maiiana — to-morrow — and from the judge to the usher 
they are all faithful to this magic word. But the greatest 
difficulty which confronts the Mexican courts is that in- 
volved in cases which concern foreigners. The whole 
policy of the Mexican authorities is to be civil to foreigners, 
and in legal matters this is as obvious as it is in administra- 
tive. Sometimes, however, Mexican judges are found too 



212 MEXICO 

favorable to their fellow-countrymen, and then it requires 
the interference of the President to tip the scales of justice. 
Such a case was reported to me. A foreign company, 
so I was told, ran a cable line through some land belonging 
to a Mexican, with the understanding that settlement was 
to be made afterwards. Some ground was also occupied 
for other purposes. Although no damage was done to the 
property, the company offered the landowner a generous 
sum as compensation, but he refused to accept it, and the 
case was referred to the local judge, his intimate friend. 
This judge ordered the company to purchase the entire 
estate for $30,000 as compensation. The company ap- 
pealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the decision. 
The case was then brought to the notice of President Diaz. 
He summoned the members of the court before him and said 
in effect: ^^This won't do. You'll have to reconsider that 
decision. We are inviting foreign capital to Mexico, and 
if foreigners discover that they cannot get justice we shall 
lose millions." 

The Supreme Court thereupon ordered the local judge to 
give the case another hearing. This time he decided that 
the company must pay $20,000. Again they appealed to 
the Supreme Court, again that court upheld the decision, 
and again resort was had to the President, who, however, 
this time refused to interfere. When the company declined 
to pay, the court announced that their property would be 
seized and sold at public auction on a certain date. The 
company retaliated by pointing out that they were the only 
corporation rich enough to buy the property if the auction 
took place; and in any case they would see that the facts 
of the gross injustice should be published in all the leading 
newspapers of the world so that foreigners might learn what 
sort of treatment they might expect in Mexico. This 
threat reached Seiior Limantour, the Minister of Finance, 



THE MACHINEBY OF GOVERNMENT 213 

and he hurried off to the President, warning him that some- 
thing must be done at once. President Diaz thereupon 
ordered the Supreme Court to fix the damages at $3000, 
the sum originally offered by the company, and this was 
paid in final settlement. ^^But," added my informant, 
^'suppose there had been no Diaz to interfere! What 
protection should we have had? " 

The chief triumph of the Diaz regime has been the policing 
of the Repubhc by mounted police, or ^^rurales," who 
keep order in the country districts ; and an excellent and 
intelligent body of men are one of the bulwarks of the 
government. But it is perhaps in the capital that one is 
best able to gauge the astounding change which has been 
witnessed during a single generation. Twenty-five years 
ago Mexico City was the prey of as foul an army of beggars, 
thieves and cut-throats as could be found in any city in 
the world. Murders were committed by half dozens every 
night. In the awful rookeries where the scum of the city — 
thieves, offal-carriers, rag-pickers, pulque-sellers — congre- 
gated, crimes of all kinds were planned and carried out with 
impunity. The government flooded the city with police, 
but at first it looked as if the forces of disorder must win. 
When the electric lights were first installed in the city, 
the vagabonds cut the wires night after night in the neigh- 
borhood of San Lazaro, one of the lowest quarters, that 
they might carry out their robberies unmolested. Even 
in the Alameda and the fashionable quarters of the city the 
foulest murders were committed, and it was even suggested 
that the police were in league with some of the worst crim- 
inals. 

But the government was not to be beaten. The arm of 
the law was stretched out into the worst holes and crannies 
of Mexico City, policemen were stationed at every corner. 
Prisons were full to choking, and those criminals caught 



214 MEXICO 

red-handed were transported to the hot lands in southern 
Mexico as plantation slaves. The result has been more 
than good. To-day Mexico City is one of the most orderly 
places in the world. One can walk from end to end at night, 
unguarded, with little fear of being even annoyed. 

But if the Mexican police are good, they are very often 
arrogant. In street rows they will arrest everybody within 
sight, and woe betide the man who resists them. The truth 
is, the Mexican policeman takes himself very seriously. 
Just as every French soldier was taught to believe that there 
was a marshal's baton in his knapsack, so the Mexican 
^^sereno" hoodwinks himself into the hope that he is an 
embryo Monsieur Lecoq, which self-conceit betrays him 
into a certain officiousness and anxiety to arrest any and 
everybody on the slightest provocation. 

I heard of an amusing instance which illustrates this. 
An American visitor to Mexico City was seized with a bad 
cold and compelled to keep his bed at his hotel. One 
morning, two policemen marched into his room with a 
stretcher and told him he must be taken to the hospital. 
On his demanding why, they replied, ''It has been reported 
that you have typhus, and you must come immediately." 
They strapped him on the stretcher, took him to the hos- 
pital, where he was deprived of his clothes, given a sort of 
hospital nightgown, and put into a ward with a lot of ty- 
phus patients. He did not see any doctor for a day or so. 
When that official did arrive, he asked, "What are you doing 
here ? " The American replied, ''They say I've got typhus." 
The doctor said, "You've got nothing of the kind, so get 
out, seiior." When the American went to find his clothes, 
they had been stolen. He borrowed a blanket, and wrap- 
ping it round him tried to sneak back to his hotel through 
the side streets. On his way he was arrested on the charge 
of "appearing in public in an indecent costume," was taken 



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THE KURALES. 
A squadron of Mexico's famous mounted police. 




THE AWKWARD SQUAD. 
Country policemen answering the roll call. 



THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT 215 

to the police station and detained there a day or two more, 
only being released when the U. S. consul interfered. 
When he complained to the authorities, they simply laughed 
at him, seeming to consider it a great joke on the Ameri- 
cano. Indeed, one jovial official remarked, ''You came 
to Mexico to see sights, didn't you? Well, you're seeing 
them. Then why complain?'' 

Another case which ended in tragedy was that of a 
clerk who, buying a revolver from a friend, was putting it in 
the case when it went off, shooting the latter and infliiSting 
a serious wound. A request to take the deposition of the 
wounded man was sent to the local magistrate, but he was 
drunk and could not come. Friends of the wounded man, 
having procured a stretcher, a journey of seven miles was 
made to the house of the next magistrate, who took the de- 
position, which was witnessed by the mayor of the village 
and the chief of police. The man was then sent to Mexico 
City for treatment, the clerk and two other friends accom- 
panying him. He was being removed from the train when 
an officious policeman refused to allow him to be taken to 
the hospital, arrested the whole party as ''suspicious per- 
sons " and conducted them to the police station, where they 
were confined all night. Receiving no medical attention, 
the victim of the accident died from the effects of the 
excitement and exposure. The clerk was then taken back 
to the place where the accident had occurred, and put into 
prison, charged with murder. It was only after expensive 
litigation that he was liberated. 

Yet another case. A drunken Mexican accosted an 
American clerk in the main street of a provincial town, 
demanding money. The young fellow pushed him away, 
and the man dropped dead, undoubtedly from heart disease, 
as it was proved afterwards that he had been drinking 
for days and had some heart ailment. The clerk was im- 



216 MEXICO 

mediately arrested. The next proceeding was taken by the 
local magistrate, who called in a butcher and ordered him 
to make a post mortem examination. After carving up 
the body of the dead man, the butcher reported that the 
internal organs showed signs of a blow; and on this evi- 
dence the young American was committed for trial for 
murder, and kept in solitary confinement. When I heard 
the story, he had been in prison for more than six months, 
all efforts to get him out on bail having been in vain. The 
law's delays in Mexico are very tedious, and many months 
elapse before even in ordinary cases a trial is held. When 
the magistrate was asked why he did not call in a doctor to 
make a proper post-mortem examination, his reply was that 
the butcher was more convenient and the law allowed him 
to get a substitute if a doctor was not at hand. ''Do you 
think that a butcher is competent to judge in such a serious 
case?" asked the defendant's lawyer. The magistrate 
shrugged his shoulders and replied, ''Quien sabe?" (Who 
knows ?) . 

In Mexico the death penalty is inflicted by shooting, a 
squad of soldiers being the executioners. This, of course, 
refers to formal executions, of which many hundreds take 
place in the course of the year. But there are informal 
death sentences carried out in any number. Quite a usual 
way of getting rid of a difficult prisoner is the following: 
While being taken from one district to another, under armed 
escort, he is told by his guards to go ahead, and is then shot 
in the back, the cause of his death being reported as ''shot 
while attempting to escape." This is permissible under the 
old Spanish Ley de Fuega or Law of Flight. Highwaymen, 
too, are dealt with summarily, being shot at sight. A 
year or two ago some desperados robbed a pay-car on the 
Mexican Central Railway near Cuernavaca. They were 
caught, taken to the scene of the robbery and without 



THE MACHINEBT OF GOVERNMENT 217 

a semblance of a trial shot on the spot. At the time of 
my visit to the capital there were thirty-one criminals 
awaiting the death penalty in Belem Prison. 

For the rank and file of prisoners, Mexican prisons are 
not so very bad. They are compelled to work, as are the 
convicts in an American prison, but the whole system of 
discipline is lax. Smoking is permitted, talking is winked 
at, and there is a good feeling existing between the warders 
and their charges. In fact, the discipline seems to be little 
if at all more severe than that of an English workhouse. 
There must, for example, be much worse places than the 
prison in Oaxaca. One day when I was passing, — it 
happened to be the afternoon for visitors, — the female 
friends of the prisoners, with lots of children, were pouring 
into the prison yard, where a military band was discoursing 
lively music to the convicts who sat round in easy attitudes, 
smoking cigarettes, gossiping and having a thoroughly 
good time. 

Next to policemen, soldiers are much in evidence in Mex- 
ico, the army being an important national institution. 
The country is divided into several military districts, and in 
each of these is a certain quota of troops. Nearly every 
town of any size has a commandancia or barracks. As 
mentioned in another chapter, most of the Mexican officers 
are trained at Chapultepec. Over a third of the commis- 
sioned members of the army graduate from that institu- 
tion. The student binds himself for seven years' service, 
and should he be discharged or refuse to serve, he must re- 
pay the government about ten dollars for each month he 
has remained in the academy. If there is a war, all retired 
graduates can be compelled to report for service. There is 
no conscription in Mexico and the soldier's pay is very small. 

The Mexican standing army amounts to between 25,000 
and 30,000 men; but this does not represent the total 



218 MEXICO 

forces of the Republic, which at a time of emergency could 
summon 86,000 reserves to the colors. Of the standing 
army 20,000 odd are infantry, 2000 artillery and 5000 
cavalry, while there are small corps of engineers and others. 
Infantry and cavalry are armed with the Spanish Mauser 
rifles and carbines. The headquarters of the army are in 
Mexico City, and several battalions of infantry and regi- 
ments of cavalry are stationed there at all times. 

Mexican soldiers usually wear either a blue cloth or white 
linen uniform, with a blue or white military cap or glazed 
leather Austrian-shaped kepi. One of the artillery regi- 
ments has a uniform of German appearance, blue with red 
facings, and a bright, spiked brass helmet. Some regiments 
wear the national sombrero, and in the country districts 
the nacionales sometimes wear a pudding-basin-shaped 
straw hat with a ribbon round it. All the cavalrymen 
have a carbine strapped to their backs, and carry revolvers 
as well as swords. The majority of the troops are Indians 
of half or whole blood. 

Some of the crack regiments are presentable enough, but 
the average Mexican soldier looks somewhat undisciplined 
and sloppy. As to their fighting qualities there is a great 
difference of opinion, some authorities declaring them 
cowardly and untrustworthy, while others assert that they 
are brave and stubborn fighters. The truth is that there 
are great differences in the methods of recruiting. While 
the nacionales, who are equivalent to our militia, are for 
the most part a well -set-up, loyal body of men, the regulars 
are quite untrustworthy and have little or no patriotism. 
The explanation is simple. Most of them are men who as 
a penalty for some crime have been sentenced to serve in 
the army, thus forcing them into the service, ill-drilled and 
with little or no knowledge of the use of firearms, so that it 
is scarcely to be expected that they will make good soldiers. 



CHAPTER XIII 

A MEXICAN PARADISE 

"Go to Cuernavaca/' said an American friend, as I sat 
by a diminutive oil stove in his office in Mexico City one 
morning, discussing the cold weather which had lasted 
through the first weeks of November. "Cuernavaca," 
he continued, "is a place of orange groves and flowers; 
it is always warm, and it has the finest climate in the world." 
This certainly sounded attractive, and as I was determined 
to get thawed out after my chilly experiences in the capital, 
I decided to take his advice. The next morning found me 
on a train bound for the mid- winter paradise. 

Cuernavaca is about seventy-four miles from the city, 
and the journey is one that never loses its charm. Not 
only is the route of the Mexican Central Railway marvel- 
lously rich in scenic attractions, but it also has some his- 
torical interest. It follows, in fact, part of the ancient 
mountain trail by which the looting Spaniards passed to 
and fro between the oceans in the old romantic days. 
Loaded with Spanish goods, the galleons would sail from 
Barcelona or Cadiz for Vera Cruz, where they would dis- 
charge their cargoes. A large portion of this freight was 
taken overland, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific 
coast, being carried in huge carts drawn by oxen, over 
rough trails through the wondrous wooded mountains. The 
port of Acapulco, on the Pacific, was a busy place in those 
days, and it was there that the galleons from the Philippine 
Islands and other parts of the East unloaded their precious 

219 



220 MEXICO 

freights of gold and jewels, the silks of China, pearls, jades 
and ivory. Packed in the lumbering carts, this treasure 
was borne over the mountains to Vera Cruz, where it was 
shipped for Spain. 

From the train one sees to-day the long lines of patient 
burros threading their way up and down the mountain- 
side with loads of fruit and farm produce from the hot 
lands ; and in this sleepy, unprogressive country it is easy 
to picture those ancient pack-trains commanded by the 
filibusters of Cortes. The railway has already reached 
Balsas, the centre of a rich mining district in the moun- 
tains; it will some day reach Acapulco, and it is safe to 
prophesy for the old port a wonderful trade revival. 

On leaving Mexico City, the train crosses the plain and 
then starts an ascent, winding in and out among the moun- 
tain peaks, always on an increasing gradient, till before the 
lucky passengers one of the most wonderful views it is 
possible to imagine unfolds itself. Stretching to the horizon, 
which is broken with mountains, lies the Valley of Mexico, 
as the plain upon which the capital stands is called, dotted 
over with villages and lakes. At this great height Mexico 
City looks like a toy city, flashing a silver gray in the sun- 
shine and dominated by the two towers of the cathedral, 
reduced to pygmy size. As the train climbs higher, the 
semi-tropical vegetation is left behind and the region of 
pines is entered. Far away among the ridges occasional 
patches of snow can be seen, and now and again a glimpse 
may be caught of the great snow-capped peak of Popocat- 
epetl dwarfing the lesser mountains. The highest point 
is reached at La Cima (the summit) 9895 feet above sea- 
level. Then the train passes the stations of Toro (the bull) 
and Tres Marias (Three Marys), the latter so called in ref- 
erence to three pine-covered peaks near by. 

A road noticeably good in a country where the roads for 



A MEXICAN PARADISE 221 

the most part are execrable runs from Mexico City to Cuer- 
navaca, crossing the hne at Tres Marias and disappearing 
among the pines. This road was built for motoring; the 
track of an old road was partly used and miles of new road 
were made, the money for the undertaking being sub- 
scribed by motor enthusiasts, assisted by the government. 
So excellent is the road and so direct the course it takes 
that it is actually quicker to motor to Cuernavaca than to 
take the train. 

Even at this great altitude peons may be seen ploughing, 
and in many places the soil seems to be black and rich. 
Mosses and flowers of northerly regions are seen growing 
among the rocks. The air, even in summer, is often 
quite nipping at Tres Marias. 

At the gaunt, gray peak of Ajusco, over thirteen thou- 
sand feet high, the train reaches the top of the ridge and 
begins the descent into the Valley of Cuernavaca. You 
see then the other panorama of the mountain range stretch- 
ing westward ; a sea of rolling hills and ancient lava-flows 
miles in length, with here and there small lakes and Indian 
villages dotted over the valley, almost hidden between the 
mountains, the grayness of the scene brightened by emerald 
patches of sugar-cane. 

Cuernavaca was called by the old Indians Cuauhnahuac, 
meaning ''Near the trees." The Spaniards — forerunners 
of American abbre viators — shortened the name to Cuer- 
navaca, meaning ''Cow's horn." Running through the 
town is a deep, rocky ravine covered with trees, which prob- 
ably gave rise to the ancient name. The pretty Spanish- 
Moorish looking town, with its cream-colored houses, some 
flat-roofed, others red-tiled, stands on the side of a vast 
valley, ringed in by volcanic hills and mountains. Sur- 
rounding it are plantations of rice and coffee, orchards 
of oranges and groves of bananas, mangos and mameys. 



222 MEXICO 

It is 4921 feet above the sea and combines a tropic warmth 
with a mild and temperate chmate^ making it an almost 
perfect resort for invalids, particularly for those suffering 
from lung or bronchial troubles. 

When I left Mexico City at half -past seven in the morning, 
the sky was cloudy, the sun was invisible and the air chill. 
In Cuernavaca there was a clear blue sky, and the sun was 
shining with all the warmth of a summer day. Passengers 
who wore their heavy wraps and overcoats were glad to 
take them off, and were soon perspiring in this balmy at- 
mosphere. Cuernavaca profits by the great mountain range 
which lies between it and the capital, effectually guarding 
it from the northern blasts and the depressing clouds which 
accompany them. 

The town is about half a mile from the station, and being 
shut in by the hills cannot be seen from the train. Outside 
the station there were three little street-cars, each drawn 
by two mules ; these take the passengers and their luggage 
down to the town for eight cents apiece. People who are 
more exclusive can take a carriage for half a dollar and get 
their bones well shaken in riding over the cobble-stone 
streets. I rode in one of the tram-cars with several 
blanketed Indian seiiores, some senoras in their rebosas and 
a few white fellow-travellers. On the way the hotel porter 
pointed me out a hill commanding a fine view of the valley. 
This is the site of an American model city for well-to-do 
Americans and others, which is to be laid out with trees 
and flowers and equipped with all modern conveniences. 
Already several picturesque white stone bungalows, with 
red-tiled roofs, have been built. Fine golf links have also 
been laid down. The scheme has obtained much support, 
and there are so many people anxious to join the colony 
that the spot looks like becoming one of the most popular 
resorts in Mexico, 



A MEXICAN PARADISE 223 

Our car, which took the lead, went merrily on its way 
for a time, and then through the reckless driving of our 
Indian Jehu ran off the line. All the passengers got out 
and lent a hand in lifting the car back on to the metals. 
Later we crossed a fine stone bridge over the ravine or bar- 
ranca, and then passed through a pretty little plaza with the 
inevitable fountain and bright flower beds. Growing all 
over the rocks in the ravine, I noticed a beautiful convol- 
vulus of sky-blue. This I afterwards saw in other parts 
of Mexico. Then the car clattered down the main street, 
paved with rough cobble-stones and lined with picturesque 
two-storied houses with their flat roofs and barred windows. 
Through the wide-open doorways there were occasional 
glimpses to be had of quaint patios, cool fountains and 
flowers of many colors. Thus we progressed to the main 
plaza, planted with orange trees, where the car stopped. 

There are two hotels in Cuernavaca, both under American 
management. The one I chose had been an old Spanish 
mansion, and was to some extent brought up-to-date to 
serve as a hotel. In the large tile-paved patio, open to the 
sky, were two pretty little gardens filled with tropical plants 
and flowers, and in each was a fountain of sparkling water. 
My room, with cool, tiled floor, seemed quite refreshing, 
and the heavy lattice to the windows was a welcome pro- 
tection against the blaze of the sun which would otherwise 
have poured in. For the first time since reaching Mexico 
I really felt grateful for shade and a cool breeze. My 
window commanded a beautiful view of the old cathedral 
and several other time-worn churches, with their soft red 
walls and quaint gray towers. Later on, when I walked 
around the beautiful little town, I could understand why 
it is the Mecca of kodak fiends and the despair of artists who 
find its glowing tints and wonderful effects so hard to catch. 

Adjoining the main plaza is the market-place, with its 



224 MEXICO 

thick stone walls and red-tiled roofs. Here, every morning, 
the Indian women are found selling their wares, — oranges, 
bananas, grenadines, mangoes and other tropical fruits, 
with a varied assortment of dry and fresh beans and other 
vegetables, — squatting patiently on the ground with their 
little piles of produce before them. The stalls of the 
pottery sellers, with their bright red stock-in-trade, give 
a dash of color to the scene. In the centre of the market- 
place, which is open to the sky, is the circular stone foun- 
tain where the market people get their water. Round the 
market square, under the massive portales, are some queer, 
old-fashioned shops or general stores. 

In the middle of the town stands the Government Palace, 
a beautiful little building of white stone, which was once the 
palace of Cortes, and was finished in 1531. The garden 
here, although it was December, was ablaze with flowers 
of many hues — bright red hibiscus, great masses of ma- 
genta bougainvillea, geraniums, roses and lilies, set in a 
velvety green lawn, and over all the orange and grape- 
fruit trees loaded with fragrant blossoms and golden fruit. 
From the rear of the palace there is a magnificent view of 
Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, towering above the clouds, 
their snow-caps glistening bright beneath the deep blue 
sky. In this picturesque old palace meets the legislature 
of the State of Morelos, of which Cuernavaca is the capital. 

Not far from here is the venerable Cathedral of San Fran- 
cisco, founded by Franciscan monks in 1529. This also 
owed something to Cortes, having originally been a convent 
which he liberally endowed; in later years it became the 
parish church, and has now reached its present dignity. 
It is really a series of churches and chapels, with connect- 
ing roofs and walls. In the main tower there is a clock 
which was once in the Cathedral of Segovia and was a 
present to Cortes from Charles the Fifth. 



A MEXICAN PABADISE 225 

The neighborhood of Cuernavaca is full of reminiscence 
of the Conqueror. Close to the town is the hacienda of 
Atlacomulco, once his property, and still owned by his 
descendants, the present proprietor being the Duke of 
Terranova and Monteleone of Italy. In the ancient 
hacienda house, constructed of massive stone after the 
fashion of the early Spanish builders, there are preserved 
some great wooden chests which are said to have been 
brought from Spain by Cortes. Some large brown earthen- 
ware jars, which are carefully guarded, are also reputed to 
have been in use in his time. Most of the estate is still 
devoted to the cultivation of sugar-cane, and sugar refining 
is its chief industry. 

During his short-lived empire, Maximilian had a pretty 
home, known as Olindo, near Cuernavaca, and here he used 
to retire with the Empress Carlotta for a few days' rest 
from cares of state. 

I spent a very pleasant week in Cuernavaca, strolling 
daily about its cobble-paved streets which wind up and 
down hill, charmed with its romantic old houses and 
churches. With its background of rolling mountains, the 
deep blue sky, its red roofs, sunny gardens and quaint 
byways, Cuernavaca bears a striking resemblance to one 
of the old Italian towns; but it is more than picturesque 
— it is unusually clean and well-kept. The last observa- 
tion also applies to some of its inhabitants, for even the 
Indians look clean, and their cotton clothing is more often 
white than gray-tinted. This may be due to the fact that 
the town has an excellent water-supply and a fine public 
bath. 

A beautiful spot in the old town is the Borda Garden. 
Near the cathedral is the mansion built by Jose de la Borda, 
a Mexican silver king who lived in the good old days when 
George the Second was king of England. Marvellous tales 



226 MEXICO 

are told of this Mexican Croesus, who dug from forty to 
fifty milUon dollars in silver from his mines at Tlalpujahua, 
Taxco and Zacatecas. He was a generous patron to the 
church, and spent a million dollars or more on the edifice 
at Taxco, fifty miles from Cuernavaca. Jose was a French 
Canadian who had wandered into Mexico, and there made 
three fortunes and lost two because of his devotion to 
mother church. In the State of Hidalgo he built several 
churches, and his devoutness was such that after losing 
his second fortune, the Archbishop of Mexico returned to 
him a magnificent diamond-studded ornament which he 
had presented to the church at Taxco. The sale of this 
altar-jewel brought him a hundred thousand dollars, which 
proved the foundation of another fortune of many mil- 
lions. 

Long ago the Bordas disappeared from Cuernavaca and 
the glory of their old mansion has also departed. By 
paying twenty-five centavos any one may enter the old 
garden which adjoins the long, rambling house, with its 
tiled courts and patios. Here are trees and flowers of the 
tropics, terraced slopes, lakelets, cascades and fountains 
which in all are said to have cost a million dollars. The 
whole place is in a state of decay, but there is beauty even 
in its ruin. The stuccoed walls and palisades are a soft 
pink tint, streaked with green moss ; the stone paving and 
steps are also softened by the hand of time; the statuary 
and fountains all show the same signs of neglected age. 
On the little lake, bordered with mango trees, which were 
loaded with fruit when I visited the place, was a thriving 
colony of swans and ducks, but otherwise there was no 
vestige of life in the old pleasure-ground. At two corners of 
the walls are quaint stone arbors from which there are mag- 
nificent views of the valley and the rugged mountains. 
One of these nooks overlooks the Indian village of San 



A MEXICAN PARADISE 227 

Antone, with its crumbling stone church, very much hke 
one of the ancient wayside churches of southern Italy. 

I spent many a restful hour in the old Borda Garden, 
and derived a good deal of amusement from the walls of the 
shady arbors, which bore hundreds of inscriptions by en- 
thusiastic visitors, chiefly American tourists from such 
romantic places as ^^ Union City, Neb.," ^^ Grimesville, 0.," 
and ''Tin Can, Wash." But such comments as ''Hey, 
fellows, Cuernavaca's all right, and don't you forget 
it," or "Say, why can't we annex Cuernavaca to Grand 
Rapids?" however well-meaning, scarcely harmonize with 
the antique. Some of the Mexican young men and maidens 
who had visited the place had evidently been aroused to a 
state of sentimental frenzy, and there were numerous Span- 
ish verses pencilled on the stucco — lovesick outbursts 
such as, "Ah! mi adorada!" (Oh, my adored one), etc. 

I shared the garden's solitude with myriads of bright- 
eyed lizards, browns and bronzes, greens and yellows, 
forever darting over the mouldering walls or lurking in the 
crevices and blinking out at the invader of their haunts. 
But even here one was not safe from the Mexican beggar. 
The wall at about three feet from the roadway was pierced 
with a series of square holes at intervals, and as I sauntered 
down the path I was startled by a voice crying to me from 
some unknown place, "Un centavo, seiior." A Mexican 
urchin had spotted the stranger and was serenading me 
with the cadging cry through each hole ! 

Cuernavaca has a number of visitors all the year round, 
and during the tourist season, from February till April, large 
parties come down from the City. In the main street I 
noticed the "English Tea Rooms," the "American Curio 
Store"and the "American Tourist's Supply Depot, "the out- 
ward and visible signs of the tou:iot invasion. Motoring 
trips from Mexico City to the town are very popular, and 



228 MEXICO 

every Saturday cars make the trip across the mountains, 
bringing week-end parties. 

The deep, rocky ravine called 'Hhe barranca/' which 
runs through Cuernavaca, is a favorite ride for visitors, 
who mount the patient burro or the restless Mexican 
bronco. There are Indian huts amid groves of oranges 
and bananas scattered through the ravine, and in its wind- 
ing depths runs a clear mountain stream. A zigzag rocky 
path leads into the barranca, where an old stone bridge 
crosses the stream, and toiling up the other side one reaches 
the little Indian village of San Antone. Here a fierce battle 
was fought between the Spaniards under Cortes and the 
Tlahuica Indians, whose descendants are still living on the 
spot, probably much in the same way as their forefathers 
did at the Conquest. 

I often crossed the barranca to San Antone in the cool 
of the afternoon, passing the ancient pink-tinted little 
church, with its mouldering walls and its neglected church- 
yard, in which stands a moss-streaked stone cross with a 
half-obliterated inscription. The village street is bordered 
with rude adobe huts, embowered in tropical foliage, 
orange trees, palms and sometimes the gorgeous bougain- 
villea and poinsettia. Most of the natives of San Antone 
are potters, producing the famous red Cuernavaca ware; 
and they can be seen at work in their yards turning out 
vessels of classic shape that might have been moulded in 
ancient Greece or Rome. There, too, you may see the 
potter at his wheel, 'Hhumping his wet clay" in true Orien- 
tal style. The squatting earthenware makers are pictu- 
resque enough ; but here and there by the roadside may 
be seen even a prettier picture, just a young, dark-eyed 
Indian lassie sitting on her straw mat, beneath the shade 
of a red sarape, making some bowl or jar of graceful design, 
her sole utensils being a piece of broken glass and a horse- 



A MEXICAN PABADISE 229 

hair. With the latter in her teeth she will trim the lip of 
a water- jug, smoothing the edges afterwards with the glass, 
bending her small black head untiringly over her work. 

On one side of the village street runs a mountain stream, 
and here the Indian women, as the evening shades are fall- 
ing, can be seen washing their household ware and cleans- 
ing the linen ; while from the huts comes the sound of the 
patting of tortillas for the family meal and the low, crooning 
voices of women singing melancholy Indian songs. The 
smoke from the wood fires fills the air with pungent fumes. 
Indian girls with water jars poised gracefully on their heads 
patter homeward from the village well. Peons swathed 
in their red blankets trudge wearily back from work. 
Then from the old church is heard the soft chiming of the 
angelus, and a hush falls on the village as you wend your 
way back towards the twinkling electric lights of Cuerna- 
vaca, the steep barranca alone separating the ancient from 
the modern. 

A bright young mozo with whom I struck up an ac- 
quaintance gave me some interesting information about the 
Indians of San Antone and their peculiar customs. In his 
broken English he told me that there were two ancient 
women in the village who were alleged to be witches and 
possessed of wonderful powers as fortune-tellers. '^They 
take old Indian figure dug from the ground," he said (mean- 
ing one of the old Aztec idols), "and then they put burning 
flax before it at night, look in fire and tell you all that 
happens." ^'Did you ever have your fortune told ? " I asked. 
'^No, no, seiior," he rephed, '^I too much fear. Our padre 
he say if you deal with those people you go to bad place." 
One could easily imagine that an old wrinkled Indian crone 
kneeling, on a dark night, and gazing into the smouldering 
fire before some horrible Aztec idol, would make so weird 
and terrifying a scene that my friend the mozo might 



230 MEXICO 

well be excused for hesitating to consult the powers of 
darkness. 

No description of Cuernavaca would be complete without 
a mention of its exquisite sunsets and evening effects. 
The height and the mountain air conspire to create some of 
the most glorious sky pictures that it is possible to imagine ; 
such bewildering masses of scarlets, blues and gold, giving 
soft hues to the snow-capped peaks, and lighting the domes 
of the old cathedral and the soft red roofs of the houses 
nestling below. No one who loves nature could stand un- 
moved before the spectacle of this sky splendor ; and one 
sympathizes with the stranger of whom the story is told 
that he would stand hat in hand, in reverent attitude, on the 
flat roof of a house at Cuernavaca, looking towards the set- 
ting sun as if in worship. The distant hills, shaded in ex- 
quisite opalescent tints, standing clear against the sky, 
with groups of the white-trunked royal palms in the fore- 
ground, crowned with their glories of dark green, make such 
a picture as lives in the memory forever. 

But one might go on indefinitely in praise of Cuernavaca, 
its wonderful cHmate and its lovely views, which remind 
one of what Mark Twain once said of a New Zealand town : 
^^ People stopped here on their way from home to heaven, 
thinking they had arrived.'' The sunshine and soft, dry 
air do much to make the place a veritable subtropical para- 
dise, while the delicious coolness of its streets is due to its 
fountains and streams, which are fed from the surrounding 
mountains. But above and beyond all its beauties is the 
wealth of flowers, each little patio being an oasis of exquisite 
bloom. One street of half a mile was actually bordered 
by oleander trees loaded with blossoms of pink and white. 

There are plenty of interesting sights to be seen in the 
country about Cuernavaca, especially the Aztec remains, 
which are very numerous. I made a trip of eighteen miles 



A MEXICAN PABADISE 231 

one day to the ruins of Xochicalco, which are believed to 
represent what was once a fortified post or mihtary colony 
estabhshed by the Aztecs to maintain their authority 
among the hill tribes of the western slope. The ruins, 
which are situated on the top of a steep hill, are in the form 
of a large rectangular pyramid, constructed of well-shaped 
granite blocks, ranging from four to six feet in width. 
Sculptured in rehef on the upper walls are colossal figures 
of warriors in feathered head-dress, wearing elaborate ear- 
rings, bracelets and breastplates. Most of them are broad- 
nosed, with sloping foreheads — the peculiar Aztec type. 
Surrounding these figures are feathered serpents, — the 
emblem of Quetzalcoatl, — and rabbits, birds and wolves, 
supposed to represent certain years and events. There are 
also a variety of other hieroglyphics, the key to which has 
never been discovered. The carvings are wonderful in 
execution and exceedingly artistic. Some of the warriors 
might almost have been copied from the sculptures of 
Egyptian temples. 

Remarkably well selected was the site of this ancient 
stronghold, for it commands a view of the country for miles 
round. Beneath it there are several passages faced with 
cut stone, one of which ends in a square chamber 75 feet long 
and 68 feet wide, which may have been a temple. The 
central ruin and some smaller structures which are scattered 
about are being slowly destroyed by time and the rank 
vegetation, the roots of trees and huge creeping plants push- 
ing their way between the stones and forcing them from 
their places. 

A day's journey to the westward from Cuernavaca takes 
one to the caves of Cacahuamilpa, which are among the 
wonders of the world and surpass even the famous Mammoth 
Caves of Kentucky. In the village of Cacahuamilpa there 
is a small hotel, clean and comfortable, the proprietor of 



232 MEXICO 

which provides guides for visitors. The caves have been 
explored for over twenty miles, the winding passages lead- 
ing to a series of natural halls, glittering with enormous 
stalagmites,^ which are still in process of formation. Some 
of these have taken grotesque shapes or formed huge pillars 
of a hundred feet or more in height. One curious figure, 
called the camel, from its resemblance to that animal, is 
said by geologists to have taken from seventy to eighty 
thousand years to attain its present dimensions. All this 
wonderful subterranean work has been done by the action 
of water which once flowed through the caves and is still 
oozing through the rock. Two rushing rivers still flow 
beneath the caves, and are probably hollowing out other 
caverns for completion ages hence. 

Among the most wonderful chambers is the Sala del 
Trono or Throne Room, which is upwards of seven hundred 
feet in length, two hundred and fifty feet wide and over 
five hundred feet high. An American writer in attempt- 
ing to give an idea of the size of this immense cavern, hu- 
morously says, ^' If one of the great New York skyscrapers, 
three hundred feet in height, were placed inside the Throne 
Room, a man standing on the top of it would need a feather 
duster with a handle two hundred feet long to sweep the 
cobwebs off the cavern ceiling." On one side of this vast 
chamber are two masses of stalagmites and stalactites, form- 
ing two beautiful thrones, from which the cavern derives 
its name. When lighted with magnesium light, the glitter- 
ing effects of this hall of crystal are wondrously beautiful. 
Another majestic chamber is called the Vestibule, the walls 
being covered with stalactites and stalagmites resembling 
the purest Parian marble, carved in various graceful forms 
and beautifully pohshed. Not far off is El Campanario, 
so called from a number of stalactites in it which give forth 
a bell-like sound when struck. 



A MEXICAN PABADISE 233 

The passages are so winding and confusing that it is 
dangerous to penetrate even a short distance inside the 
caverns without an experienced guide. A melancholy 
reminder of this fact is a gloomy cavern known as El Ped- 
regal del Muerto, where the skeletons of two tourists who 
endeavored to explore the caves without a guide were found 
some years ago. 

The ''hot lands" bordering the Pacific Ocean are reached 
by railway from Cuernavaca, the present terminus, Balsas, 
being in the State of Guerrero. This important State, which 
stretches along the coast for nearly three hundred miles, has 
nearly half a million inhabitants and approximately covers 
twenty-two thousand square miles. The chmate is very 
hot the whole year round. In this part of the country 
there is some wonderful scenery, with mountain ranges 
clothed with the dense verdure of the tropics, rushing rivers, 
and precipices thousands of feet high. Until the railway 
is complete, which has as its eventual goal Acapulco, mule 
pack-trains carry goods and travellers over the mountain 
between Balsas and the Pacific coast. 

Guerrero abounds in prehistoric ruins which are believed 
to have been in the same condition when Montezuma 
reigned in Tenochtitlan, and then, as now, little was known 
of the builders of these ancient structures. Professor 
Wilham Niven, an American archeologist, says that tens 
of thousands of ruins of buildings which had been sub- 
stantially built of stone are still in existence. During his 
work of exploration in this part of Mexico, Mr. Niven has 
unearthed some beautiful objects of gold, including idols, 
amulets and dress ornaments of artistic design, proving 
that the prehistoric goldsmiths were workmen of great 
skill. 

Some Mexicans believe that the mysterious region from 
which Montezuma obtained his supplies of gold — which 



234 MEXICO , 

was never revealed to the Spaniards — is situated some- 
where in Guerrero. The country is certainly rich in minerals, 
and numbers of English and Americans are engaged in 
mining there. More than five hundred mining properties, 
with a total area of fourteen thousand acres, are being 
worked in the State. Copper, gold, lead and silver, with 
other minerals of less value, are all successfully worked, and 
from the miner's point of view the district is practically 
virgin. So far, the difficulty of access has kept prospectors 
away, but with the extension of the railway a wonderful 
era of mining development is bound to follow. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 

The difference between the American and his neighbor 
the Mexican is strikingly illustrated in the names and 
history of their respective cities. In a past age many a 
shrewd Yankee, with an eye to business, induced his friends 
to start a town, and while growing rich by speculating in 
real estate, perpetuated his memory by naming the place 
after himself. Thus we have our Higgsvilles, Smithburgs 
and other cities of prosaic name. The Mexican, with his 
more romantic nature and devotion to the church, usually 
named his town after some beautiful view near at hand, 
or some wonderful miracle which was supposed to have 
happened on the spot. It was a miracle that led to the 
founding of Puebla, a city with a population of 125,000, 
which claims to be next in importance to the capital. 

The story is that a good friar, Julian Garcia, who lived 
in the early Spanish days, had a wonderful dream in which 
he saw a beautiful plain near two great snow-capped moun- 
tains. There were also two springs which fed rivers of 
abundant water. As he beheld this vision, two angels 
appeared with rod and chain and measured off streets and 
squares as if planning a city. Then appeared a flight of 
angels singing a song of praise to the accompaniment of 
heavenly music. The friar determined to find the place he 
had seen in his dream, and after journeying many weary 
miles he eventually reached the site of Puebla, which he 
at once recognized as the spot he had seen in his vision. 

235 



236 MEXICO 

As this was sufficient evidence of a miracle, the good old 
man persuaded the Spanish settlers to build a town there, 
and this grew to be the City of Puebla, or as it was originally 
called, Puebla de los Angeles (The City of the Angels). 

With such a miraculous beginning it is not surprising 
that Puebla should have been much favored by the devout 
in early times. So lavish were their endowments and so 
wonderful the amount of building which followed that to-day 
there is hardly a street in the city that does not have its 
array of churches, their towers and domes rising in every 
direction. It is for this reason that Puebla is often re- 
ferred to as "the City of Churches." In former days pil- 
grims journeyed thither from afar to worship at the many 
shrines in the old city. It is still one of the "show places " 
of Mexico and attracts many visitors; but most of these 
pilgrims are tourists bent on sight-seeing. 

It is a curious fact that pilgrimages to holy places are 
usually difficult and unpleasant. The devout Mahomme- 
dan who travels to Mecca does not find it exactly a pleasure 
trip; and it is said that the journey to Lhasa has enough 
misery in it to last two ordinary lifetimes. It is probably 
on this account that the passenger trains of the Interoceanic 
Railway take about six hours to run, or rather jog, from 
Mexico City to Puebla, a distance of one hundred and 
twenty-nine miles. The passengers, I suppose, are regarded 
as pilgrims, and as such have no rights that a railway 
company is bound to respect. 

This was the journey I took one bleak morning in Decem- 
ber, starting at an unreasonably early hour. In the first- 
class car in which I travelled the temperature was un- 
deniably frigid, and a little steam heat or a foot-warmer 
would have been extremely welcome. Some of my Mexican 
fellow-passengers had come prepared for the cold, and took 
frequent draughts from black bottles, with grateful ex- 



THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 237 

clamations of ^'Bueno." As I was unprovided with a 
bottle, I sat and shivered. There is, however, a silver 
lining to the dark clouds of even a pilgrim, for as the day 
went on the sky became clear and intensely blue, while the 
sun made itself felt to such a degree that the temperature 
in our car became almost too sultry — the usual contrast. 

The journey to Puebla is not without interest. On leav- 
ing the city the train crossed the plain and wound in and 
out among the sun-baked hills, giving occasional gUmpses 
of the snow-clad peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. 
From the hills there were long stretches of barren country; 
now and again plantations of maguey ; frequent dry water- 
courses ; and sometimes maize fields, where the dry stalks 
remained from the last harvest. Half the trees along the 
way were bare of leaves, and when there was any grass it 
was sere and yellow. This, as I have already observed, 
is the prevailing appearance of the Mexican highlands 
during the winter months. The only green vegetation to 
be seen is on an occasional irrigated field. 

In the tropical part of Mexico, where there is moisture 
and rain even during the winter, the vegetation is always 
green. But for the lack of rainfall and the difficulties of 
irrigation, the temperate zone of Mexico would be ideal for 
the growing of all kinds of grain which flourish in Europe. 
As it is, the great staple food of the Mexicans is Indian corn, 
several milHon bushels of which are raised every year, while 
little effort is made to grow other crops. Wheat, which 
was introduced into Mexico by a Spanish monk, is grown 
extensively in some districts ; but as there is only enough 
for local consumption, a large quantity of flour is imported 
from the United States. This is used for making bread, 
cake and all the fancy rolls which are served in the better- 
class restaurants and hotels. 
My pilgrimage to Puebla ended at two in the afternoon, 



238 MEXICO 

when I reached the picturesque city of white houses and 
gUttering church domes. Outside the station there was 
the usual array of heavy, lumbering cabs and also some 
diminutive tram-cars, drawn by two mules, which ran to 
all parts of the city. Each car was provided with a big 
gong which the driver clanged incessantly, as if to awaken 
any drowsy peons who might be in the way. 

I took a cab to drive to my hotel, but soon repented of 
this rash act, for the street paving of unevenly laid cobble- 
stones was simply execrable. In some places the roadways 
formed miniature hills and valleys, so that my cab pitched 
and shook hke a storm-tossed vessel. In the middle of the 
streets were deep gutters — so deep, indeed, that at some 
of the street crossings they were bridged over. I heard 
afterwards that the streets of Puebla — like those of Vera 
Cruz, Orizaba and some other towns — were to be repaved 
with asphalt in the course of a few months, and that electric 
cars would take the place of the mule tramway. 

The Arcade Hotel, where my coche eventually landed me, 
is conducted in French style by an enterprising Mexican, 
and it has the reputation of being one of the best in the 
Republic. I found that its reputation is well deserved. 
After luncheon, at the invitation of mine host, I went to 
the roof, where I had a magnificent view of the city and the 
towers and domes of its churches, some white, some red, 
others blue, yellow and pink. Beyond the great plain sur- 
rounding the town are rolling hills and mountains of reddish 
tint, in the foreground the gaunt peak of Malinche; in 
another direction tower the snow-tipped peaks of Popo- 
catepetl and Ixtaccihuatl ; and still further off, in the blue 
distance, rises the snow-dome of Orizaba. 

A wonderfully quaint old city is Puebla, and much more 
typical of Mexico than is the capital. Its flat-roofed build- 
ings, usually of two or three stories, look a good deal Hke 




IN OLD PUEBLA. 

One of the quaiut streets in this picturesque city. 





.^ 


^^^^^^^^^^ 










iii^^^siil 





THE PYRAMID OF CHOLULA. 

In the foreground is a peon using the ancient wooden plough. 

(See page 244.) 



THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 239 

the older buildings in Mexico City; but there is far less 
rebuilding, renovating and Americanizing in progress. 
Most of the houses are painted a cream white, but here and 
there they are tinted in some soft shade of color which gives 
a pleasing variety. Beautiful, too, are the fine old Spanish 
mansions in which Puebla abounds, many of them having 
their exteriors decorated with tiles of superb glazing and 
ancient Moorish design. These, in some instances, form 
mosaics representing figures of saints or birds and animals. 
The city was once famous for these tiles, which were made 
by the Indian potters, but the industry is now dead and the 
art is lost. In almost every street one passes church after 
church, in various architectural styles, some of them huge 
edifices large enough for cathedrals. Each is of a different 
tint ; some of the exteriors are beautifully carved ; the domes 
and towers of some are adorned with tiles and many of 
the domes are gilded. The tiled fagades of the old houses 
and the varied hues and tiles of the churches combine to 
give the streets a wealth of color that would delight the 
soul of an artist. 

Puebla, however, is not only famous for its churches and 
picturesque streets ; but it is closely associated with those 
inspiring words, ''Cinco de Mayo" (the 5th of May), which 
mean so much to patriotic Mexicans. For it was at Puebla, 
on the 5th of May, 1862, that General Zaragoza, with a small 
force of Mexican troops, defeated a large French army, a 
briUiant victory which ultimately led to the triumph of the 
Republic. 

Still other claims to distinction has Puebla. It is the 
capital of the State of Puebla, — the richest of the Mexican 
States, — which is immensely wealthy in agricultural and 
mineral products. The city is also an important manu- 
facturing place, particularly for cotton goods, paper, and 
that article so loathed by the Mexican peon — soap. Iron 



240 MEXICO 

founding, woodworking and a number of other industries 
also occupy the busy Pueblans. 

Puebla nobly maintains its reputation as the cleanest city 
in Mexico. Its streets are remarkably well kept, streams 
of clear water continually run through the deep gutters 
and the sanitary regulations are carefully enforced. In 
different quarters there are parks and plazas, with trees, 
fountains, flowers and some good statuary, which add much 
to the picturesqueness of the city. Perhaps the most in- 
teresting of the pubhc squares is the Plaza Mayor, where 
stand the cathedral and several fine public buildings, in- 
cluding the new Municipal Palace, designed by an English 
architect. There are some attractive shops in the plaza, 
and also in a fine glass-covered arcade leading out of it, 
which resembles the Burlington Arcade in London, but is 
on a larger scale. Some of the shop windows contain 
great displays of paper-weights, inkstands, picture-frames, 
and various novelties made of Puebla onyx in all shades 
of color, the most delicate being the red and green. Near 
the city there are some large quarries of onyx, quantities 
of which are shipped to all parts of the world to be used 
for interior decoration. 

In Puebla, churches, of course, are among the principal 
sights, the finest of all being the cathedral, which was com- 
pleted in 1636 and rivals that of Mexico City in size and 
grandeur. Onyx, rare woods and gold have been lavishly 
used in the interior, giving it a wonderfully rich appearance. 
Inside the choir, a superb specimen of architecture, there 
hangs a chandelier of solid silver which is said to have cost 
175,000. Tlie pulpit is carved from Puebla onyx, and the 
high altar — the work of a native artist — is a wonderful 
combination of onyx and almost every Mexican marble. 
Some fine Flemish tapestries on the walls of the sacristy 
were presented to the cathedral by Charles the Fifth of 



THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 241 

Spain. The churches of San Francisco (1532), La Com- 
pania (1557) and San Cristobal, of about the same period, 
are among the scores of churches which give Puebla its title. 

The fact that I was in a city of churches was painfully 
recalled to me the next morning when I was aroused from 
my slumbers soon after daybreak by such a banging and 
clanging of bells that I thought an earthquake was in 
progress. 

Being 7091 feet above sea-level, — somewhat lower than 
the capital, — Puebla is a little more removed from the 
''northers," but when one is blowing, the temperature at 
night is far from tropical. When I reached the city, the 
day was as warm as a fine June day in New York; but 
when the sun went down there was a sudden change to 
November, and a good blazing fire would have been a wel- 
come addition to the comforts of my hotel. To while away 
the time, I went to a cinematograph show, but the cold 
pursued me even there. In order to ward off chills and 
pneumonia, I had to wear my overcoat in the hall, and even 
then I was unable to sit through the performance without 
going out now and then to get a hot drink. The Indians 
in the audience wrapped their blankets tightly about them 
and sat watching the pictures, grimly defying the cold. 
It was Christmas week, and a large number of these swarthy 
natives had come in from the country to do their marketing 
and see the sights. I witnessed an amusing example of 
their superstition. 

An Indian family sat in front of me, and it was evident 
that they were seeing a cinematograph show for the first 
time. The worthy peon, his wife and children, seemed be- 
wildered with amazement, and frequently crossed them- 
selves. At last some French colored pictures were flashed 
on the screen. The figure of a magician appeared, looking 
very much like Mephistopheles, and in front of him was 



242 MEXICO 

a pumpkin. This he touched with his wand, and immedi- 
ately it was transformed into six sprightly ballet girls. 
After several transformations the wizard touched the fig- 
ures, which disappeared in a cloud of smoke and flame. 
This was too much for the Indians. The man rose, mut- 
tering '' Diablo, magio, no mas, no mas" (ihe Devil, 
magic; no more, no more), crossed himself repeatedly and, 
followed by his wife and family, all apparently very much 
terrified, hurried from the hall. It is safe to say that these 
Indians had a horrible story to tell their padre when they 
went to confession the next Sunday. 

As I strolled about the city that evening, I saw some 
other interesting sights. Many of the streets were lined 
with stalls for the sale of Christmas goods, dulces, toys, 
mats and baskets of colored straw, the crude earthenware 
of Puebla, colored clay figures and various knick-knacks. 
There were also gayly colored piiiates, some of them in the 
form of oval jars, handsomely decorated with tinsel and 
streams of tissue paper. Others were made up in large, 
grotesque figures of clowns, ballet girls, monks and 
animals. 

These pifiates (pronounced pin-yah-tay) are the Christ- 
mas trees of Mexico, and take the place of those features 
of the English Christmas in the affection of the little ones. 
The jars or figures are stuffed with sweets, crackers, rattles, 
whistles and other toys, and parents — usually on Christ- 
mas Eve — hang them from the ceiling of a room or on a 
tree in the patio. Armed with a stick and blindfolded, 
the children are then led some little distance away. What 
they have to do is to grope their way towards where they 
think the piiiate is and strike out at it. Each child is given 
three chances. Sometimes they are blindfolded a dozen 
times before any one of them manages to break the piiiate 
and bring the sweets and toys tumbling to the ground. 



THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 243 

Thereupon a great scramble for the dainties takes place. 
The blindfolded child who has been lucky enough to hit 
the piiiate is sadly handicapped in the struggle, as all the 
others have been eagerly crowding round to swoop down 
upon the contents. 

Filiates are a source of immense pleasure not only to the 
little folks but to their elders ; and the bigger children are 
especially keen on this Christmas celebration, for during 
the excitement which ensues when the jar is broken, pre- 
cocious lads and lassies find it possible to squeeze into each 
other's hands ill-written little love-letters or to whisper 
tender words. 

Christmas festivities in Mexico begin on the 16th and 
last until the 25th of December and are called posadas, a 
word meaning an inn or abiding place. Posadas are held 
in the towns and cities only ; they are participated in by 
the richest as well as the poorest classes, and are known in 
Mexico only of all the countries of Spanish- America. They 
are a memory of the Gospel story of the Nativity, when 
Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem and finding no 
resting-place in the inn were obliged to shelter in a stable. 
At the celebration, everybody in the house, the family, 
guests and servants — each one being provided with a 
lighted candle — walk together several times round the 
house, chanting a litany. As each prayer is finished they 
sing the ^'Ora pro Nobis." The leader of the procession 
carries figures of Joseph and Mary, formed of clay or wax, 
and figures of saints are sometimes borne. A donkey, too, 
often forms part of the procession to represent the faithful 
creature in the Bible story. At each door in the house the 
leader stops and knocks, craving admission, but no answer 
is given. 

When the litany is finished, some of the party go inside 
a room, while the rest, with the sacred figures, stand out- 



244 MEXICO 

side singing a verse which is a plea for admittance. To 
this the churhsh answer is given that there is no room for 
the visitors, and that they are regarded as vagrants or 
thieves. Finally the door is opened, and the figures gain 
shelter for the night, the closing scene of this ceremony 
being the depositing of the figures on a roughly improvised 
altar and a sort of mass being said in front of them. 

The sacred side of the celebration over, the family and 
their guests start feasting and merrymaking, and this is 
prolonged to a late hour. In wealthy houses these posadas 
are very elaborate, and at the subsequent feast beautiful 
presents are given to each guest. At Christmas time all 
the Mexican cities are ablaze with fireworks and colored 
lights, which are the invariable conclusion for the posadas, 
the pinates and all the other festivities. 

Puebla, like Mexico City, has no night life, and by nine 
o'clock most of the streets are deserted. After dark the 
city seems melancholy and depressing, and even during 
the daytime it is far from cheerful, which is probably due 
to the number of old churches with their sombre influence. 
There are a good many Americans in Puebla, and they 
do something towards brightening up the place. The city 
has already been invaded by the American book, curio and 
grocery stores ; the American physician and dentist have 
arrived; and there are numerous agencies for American 
goods. There is also a comfortable American club, to which 
most of the English-speaking residents belong. 

During my stay at Puebla I went out one afternoon 
by the mule-car to the town of Cholula, about eight miles 
from the city. Cholula was an important city in Aztec 
times and was the scene of a great battle between Cortes 
and the treacherous natives. Having been invited to enter 
the city, he discovered they were preparing to attack and 
overwhelm his little force. Being in the midst of a powerful 



THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 245 

and warlike people, he was compelled to attack with his 
six thousand five hundred men an army of twenty thou- 
sand Indians. The result of the battle was the complete 
rout of the latter, the Spanish cannon and cavalry slaugh- 
tering thousands of the defeated Cholulans. After the 
Conquest, the ancient city soon lost its importance and has 
since been reduced to a small village. 

The ride from Puebla to Cholula is full of interest. 
Leaving the city, the car wound its way among the maguey 
fields, passed through several haciendas where cattle were 
grazing among the dry grass and crossed one or two streams 
where a fair amount of water was running. On every side 
was the great plain stretching to the mountains, above which 
towered the great snowy peaks, against a sky background 
of the deepest blue. 

Cholula, like Puebla, was once a place of pilgrimage; 
and on a high pyramid just outside the town there stood 
the great temple dedicated to the mystic deity Quetzalcoatl. 
It was on this spot that he was supposed to have dwelt. 
Cholula was also a city of temples ; Cortes has recorded that 
he counted four hundred towers in it, and no temple had 
more than two. Pilgrims came from all parts of Mexico 
in pre-Conquest days to worship in the great temple. 
Whenever the people lacked water or a drought threatened, 
children, usually from six to ten years of age, were sacrificed 
with horrible rites. The city swarmed with beggars, and 
Cortes, much impressed by this, wrote to the king of Spain 
that ^Hhey were as numerous as in the most enlightened 
capitals of Europe" ! Of the great image of Quetzal- 
coatl, which stood in the great temple, Prescott has given 
the following interesting description in his " Conquest of 
Mexico " : '^He had ebon features, unlike the fair complex- 
ion he bore upon earth, wearing a mitre on his head waving 
with plumes of fire, with a resplendent collar of gold around 



246 MEXICO 

his neck, pendants of mosaic turquoise in his ears, a jew- 
elled sceptre in one hand and a shield, curiously painted, 
the emblem of his rule over the winds, in the other." 

The pyramid now looks like a natural elevation, its sides 
being overgrown with trees and bushes; its base covers 
twenty acres, and it is about one hundred and seventy-seven 
feet in height. Around it have been occasionally unearthed 
obsidian knives and arrow-heads. Excavations at various 
points have shown that it is built of adobe bricks, clay and 
limestone. According to Indian legends, it was the work 
of giants who wished to reach heaven, but the gods, angered 
at their presumption, killed them before their work was 
completed. In attempting to give an idea of the size of 
this great tedcalli, Humboldt has compared it to a mass 
of bricks covering a square four times as large as the Place 
Vendome and twice the height of the Louvre. 

I climbed to the top of the pyramid by a long flight of 
rough stone steps, and reached the little church of Nuestra 
Sefiora de los Remedios, which marks the site of the Aztec 
temple, razed to the ground by Cortes. In the vestibule 
of the church were some modern paintings, presented by 
persons whose lives were believed to have been spared 
through the miraculous interposition of the Virgin, to whom 
the church is dedicated. One painting represented a man 
falling in front of a railway train which was being stopped by 
the Virgin. Another man was under the wheels of a large 
motor-car; but the Virgin's hand was on the chauffeur, 
and the car was unable to proceed. The knife of an assassin 
descending on the breast of an unfortunate peon was being 
stayed by the same guardian influence. In another of these 
pictures a murderous-looking rufhan is portrayed about 
to empty the contents of his magazine rifle into the breast 
of his victim; but the weapon is being pushed aside by 
the same holy hand. There were over a score of these 



THE CITY OF THE ANGELS 247 

strange works of art, the execution for the most part being 
of the crudest. I afterwards saw similar pictures in other 
Mexican churches. 

From the front of the church the view of the valley 
and surrounding mountains, the many churches with their 
glazed tile domes, and the numerous villages on the plain, 
with Puebla in the distance, is superb. Old churches are 
scattered all over the plain, and it is said that over fifty 
of them can be counted ; most of them are isolated, without 
any dwellings near them. These churches were erected 
in the great building age of the Spaniards. Many of them 
were abandoned after the enactment of the reform laws, 
and some large, imposing structures, half in ruins, are occu- 
pied by peons and their famihes. Why all these churches 
were built, nobody seems able to explain. In Cholula 
alone there are about thirty, though it has but five thousand 
inhabitants. 

The next day I took the train from Puebla to Santa Ana, 
where a horse tram-car carried me, in forty-five minutes, 
to Tlaxcala, capital of the State of that name, and the site 
of a great city visited by Cortes at the beginning of the 
Conquest. The government of the Tlaxcalans was re- 
pubhcan in form ; they were a brave race, and had reached 
a high state of culture. As they were at war with the 
Aztecs, Cortes gained them as allies, and so was enabled to 
conquer the latter and thereafter to subdue all the other 
Indian races. 

According to some Spanish historians, Tlaxcala at the 
time of the Conquest had about three hundred thousand in- 
habitants; but this is probably an exaggeration. Cortes 
expressed amazement at the civilization of the Tlaxcalan 
capital, its shops, market-places, pubHc baths, barbers 
and police. To-day, Tlaxcala is a small town with a 
population of barely four thousand. 



248 MEXICO 

In the town many relics of the past are still to be seen. 
The Council Room of the Municipal Palace contains some 
fine old paintings, including portraits of the Tlaxcalan 
chiefs who allied themselves with Cortes and who were 
baptized in 1520. In a glass case is a flag said to have been 
presented to the chiefs by the Conqueror. There are also 
robes of silk worn by the chiefs at their baptism and the 
embroidered, vestments of the priests who performed the 
ceremony. So remarkably fresh is the state of these relics 
that it is difficult to believe they are almost four hundred 
years old. The church of San Francisco in Tlaxcala is 
the oldest in America, its foundations having been laid in 
1521. It still possesses the font in which the chiefs were 
baptized, and also has a pulpit from which the Christian 
gospel was preached for the first time on the American con- 
tinent. 



CHAPTER XV 

A MEXICAN CARLSBAD 

When a European is suffering from ''liver'' or kindred 
ailments, he betakes himself, if he has the means, to Carls- 
bad or some other popular and expensive health resort. 
The Mexican also has his little maladies, and hkewise a cure 
to which he hies, and it is known as Tehuacan. 

I first heard of the fame of Tehuacan from a man from 
Minnesota with whom I struck up an acquaintance in Pue- 
bla. He was in search of some place in which to recuperate, 
and had come across an attractively illustrated pamphlet 
distributed by the railway company, which described 
Tehuacan as the Mexican Carlsbad. According to this 
booklet, if all the virtues of European spas could be com- 
bined in one, they would faintly approach the efficacy of 
Tehuacan water. For Tehuacan also had its spa, in the 
shape of two or three mineral springs, the waters of which 
were said to be certain specifics for almost every human ill. 
Under their influence diseases of the kidneys, calculus and 
other ailments, more or less serious, disappeared as if by 
magic. 

My Minnesotan acquaintance also, produced an article 
he had cut from a Western newspaper, written by some 
delighted visitor to Tehuacan. This writer had much to 
say about the beauties of the place, the fashionable folk 
who resorted there, and he waxed eloquent in praise of the 
local hotel. ''It is not a hotel," said he, enthusiastically, 
"but a grand old country house, where the proprietor will 
receive you with true Mexican hospitality ; it is not an inn 

249 



250 MEXICO 

but a home/^ ''That suits me to the limit/' remarked 
the Minnesotan; ''I'm off to Tehuacan^ and if the place only 
comes up to that recommendation, it will be different from 
any Mexican country hotel that I ever struck; for I'll 
defy any man to get a square meal and ordinary comforts 
in any of them." 

I had, at that time, decided to continue my travels as 
far as Oaxaca, the most important city in southern Mexico, 
and to see something of the gold and silver mines in that 
part of the country. Oaxaca (pronounced wah-hack-ah) 
is two hundred and twenty-eight miles from Puebla, and 
as it is a dusty, tiring trip in the winter months, my Amer- 
ican acquaintance persuaded me to break the journey at 
Tehuacan, which is about eighty miles on the way. I was 
not sorry to do this, as I had great curiosity to see a Mexican 
Carlsbad. 

We left Puebla for Tehuacan the following afternoon, 
making our journey of four hours in a crude, dusty car, 
stifling hot and crowded with Mexicans. But the scenery 
along the way amply compensated for any discomforts of 
travel. From the city the railway crosses the plain, winds 
among the hills and mountains and gradually descends to 
Tehuacan through a succession of rich valleys, dropping 
from an altitude of 7091 feet to 5408, this change of altitude 
being marked by a corresponding increase in temperature. 

Shortly before our journey ended, the train was boarded 
at a wayside station by a Mexican serving man or mozo, 
resplendent in a sort of German infantryman's uniform. 
This gorgeous being represented the hotel at the springs. 
He condescended to distribute among us humble passengers 
illustrated pamphlets describing the establishment in the 
following eloquent language . — 

"The table service is unexcelled, even in the most ex- 
pensive hotels in the capital of the Republic. The dining 



A MEXICAN CABLSBAD 251 

hall is probably the largest in the country, and is particu- 
larly noticeable for the elegance of its furnishings and 
the scrupulous neatness of all its appointments. Travellers 
who have stayed at the most famous hostelries of foreign 
capitals are loud in their praises of the tempting, wholesome, 
daintily prepared meals served by the artistic chef and his 
able staff of assistants." 

The pamphlet went on to point out that you could not be 
unhappy or bored at Tehuacan. There was tennis, golf, 
hunting, and riding in plenty for visitors, the recreations 
even including a bowling-alley and a church. My com- 
panion, with a look of great joy exclaimed, ''We seem to 
be in luck. This place is evidently a sort of Mexican 
paradise.'^ 

When we arrived at Tehuacan, we got on a little street- 
car standing outside the station, drawn by two mules, 
which took us and our baggage to the hotel, some two miles 
distant. We travelled at a good pace through the dark 
country roads, and at our journey's end found ourselves 
outside a picturesque, long rambling stone building bearing 
very little resemblance to a hotel. In fact, it was what 
in Mexico is called an old hacienda building, a sort of 
large country house and farmhouse combined, in which 
the proprietors of haciendas or estates make their homes. 
Passing through the main doorway, we entered a large, old- 
fashioned, cloistered patio, filled with flowers, orange trees 
and tall banana plants ; in the middle was a fountain play- 
ing from a wide, moss-covered basin. Adjoining the hotel 
was a long shady avenue of orange trees and palms. In 
Puebla or Mexico City the open patio would have been 
uncomfortably cool, but in Tehuacan, at a much lower 
altitude, the night air was deliciously balmy ; the sky was 
perfectly clear, the stars wonderfully brilliant; and there 
was not the faintest suspicion of a ''norther." 



262 MEXICO 

No one came forward to receive us or show us our rooms ; 
but at last we met a drowsy-looking mozo who spoke no 
English. When we asked him about rooms, he shook his 
head in a bewildered manner — probably the effect of our 
bad Spanish — and walked away. My companion said, 
''We must evidently help ourselves"; so we opened door 
after door until, finding two that seemed to be unoccupied, 
we took possession of them. We then wandered about in 
quest of the proprietor or his representative, whom we had 
expected to receive us with ''true Mexican hospitality." 

A jolly looking, bearded Spaniard was sitting outside 
the house, puffing a big cigar, talking to the mozo we had 
encountered, and apparently very much amused about 
something, possibly our arrival. As the mozo strolled by, 
my companion asked him who the Spaniard was. "Este el 
patron, senor" (He is the proprietor), replied the man. 
Alas for Mexican hospitality ! 

The hotel was crude in the extreme. The bedrooms, it 
is true, were comfortably furnished and scrupulously clean ; 
but the dining-room was certainly not what you would 
expect at a Carlsbad. It was a long room, paved with stone 
flagging and furnished with an array of small deal tables ; 
at the end of it there was a bar where guests could take a 
drink between the courses. The waiters were unkempt 
Mexican mozos with their coats off and clad in dirty vests. 
The cutlery and Hnen were of the coarsest description, 
and as for the food, only a robust constitution and a good 
appetite engendered by the healthy climate of Tehuacan 
could have made it endurable. No invalid could have 
eaten it and lived. 

The proprietor was, I discovered, one of the largest land- 
owners in the neighborhood of Tehuacan, having an estate 
of many thousands of acres. People told me that he con- 
ducted the hotel simply to oblige the public and as a recrea- 



A MEXICAN CARLSBAD 253 

tion for himself. I suppose he had done this on the prin- 
ciple that ''what is death to you is fun to me." 

My illusions about the dining-room had been shattered, 
but worse was to follow. I ordered a horse the next day 
that I might enjoy the wonderful riding the neighborhood 
was said to afford. The horse produced looked as if it had 
come over with Cortes and taken part in the famous march 
on Tenochtitlan. He was far too old to be interested in 
me or my plans. He stood motionless while I mounted. 
But then the worm turned. I was the last straw that broke 
the faithful steed's back. He did not kick, he did not 
plunge ; for he could not have done either if he had tried — 
he simply foundered, sank to the earth and stretched his 
weary, ancient limbs upon it. He was lifted to his feet and 
two mozos pushed him back into his stable. My American 
friend, as eager for shooting as I was for riding, started out 
with a gun, but after tramping about the country for half 
a day, came back with one small quail as a trophy of the 
chase. 

The morning after my arrival I was standing at the en- 
trance to the hotel when I was startled by a voice which 
said in a strong Western accent : " Good morning, neighbor ; 
I suppose you ain't got such a thing as a kidney about you ? " 
Turning, I found myself confronted by a wiry, wizened 
Westerner, with a face like a dried apple. There was a 
look of inquiry and a knowing twinkle in his eye. In 
answer to his question, I hinted that my anatomy did 
include a kidney or two, and that I was occasionally re- 
minded of it when I had dined unwisely. "Wal, then," 
continued my Western friend, "you ain't got no business 
with that kidney when there's Tehuacan water near by." 

He then proceeded to relate how he had suffered mortal 
agonies for I don't know how many years from acute kidney 
disease. ''I took that durned kidney on trips all over 



254 MEXICO 

creation, " he said, speaking of the offending organ as if it 
had been some evil sprite with whom he had been doomed 
to keep company. "I took him to San Antonio, Texas — 
my native state — and dosed him with sulphur water, 
but. Lord, it wasn't no good. He kept the upper hand. 
Then I took him off to Topo Chico Springs near Monterey, 
and poured down buckets of water, but he only laughed at 
it. I tried a score of other places that the doctors sent me 
to, but none of them wasn't any good, and he just thrived 
on the water. Well, sir, finally I was advised to try 
Tehuacan, and I came down here with very little faith in it. 
Wal, I wasn't here twenty-four hours before that durned 
cuss.reahzed that his time had come. I had him where 
the wool was short. He squirmed and kicked and didn't 
exactly like the water, but I fixed him with it and, by Gum, 
he's kept quiet ever since." 

"But," said I, ''when you leave Tehuacan, how do you 
manage; doesn't he break loose again?" ''No, siree," 
rephed the gentleman from Texas; "Tehuacan water is 
bottled and sent all over Mexico, and I drink nothing else." 
Here he looked around with a mysterious air as if afraid 
that he might be overheard. "There's only one gen-ew-ine 
Tehuacan water," he said, "and the stuff they give you here 
ain't fit to dose a dog with." "It comes from the spring, 
doesn't it?" I asked. "Yes, it does come from a spring," 
he answered, "but not from the spring, the gen-ew-ine one, 
and that's why I'm just a-going to walk two miles to the 
right place to fill my little jug." Here he tapped affec- 
tionately a wicker-covered demijohn which he carried. " If 
you like," he added, "I'll pilot you to the place." I ac- 
cepted the invitation, and along the dusty road, under the 
blazing sun, off we trudged to the spring. 

On our way my companion informed me that there were 
three springs. The original sprmg, he said, had belonged 



A MEXICAN CARLSBAD 255 

to the hacienda, but the proprietor had sold it to a company 
called La Cruz Roja or Red Cross Company, which bottled 
the water, the trade-mark being a red cross. In the mean- 
time he had dug a well which supplied Tehuacan water, 
it is true, but this my companion insisted did not have the 
curative properties of the original spring. Then a second 
well was dug in the neighborhood by another company, 
which also bottled water, and this, too, my Western friend 
insisted was less efficacious. For that reason he walked 
every day to the Red Cross Spring to fill his demijohn. 

The country about Tehuacan abounds in high, rolling 
hills of grayish limestone rock, covered with scrubby trees 
and cactus of every description. On the way my guide 
pointed out numerous holes in the hillside where attempts 
had been made to find water. As we crossed some fields, 
he called my attention to the remains of some Aztec irri- 
gation works, little aqueducts of crumbling stone, extending 
for long distances, which had been supplanted by the much 
cruder work of the Spaniards. A great deal of irrigation is 
still done about Tehuacan, a plentiful supply of water be- 
ing obtainable when wells are sunk. The gray soil in this 
district is wonderfully fertile, and there were many green 
fields of sugar-cane and maize. 

When we reached the bottling works, we went to the 
ancient spring to which the Aztecs once resorted as a cure 
for their ailments. It has been enclosed with stonework 
in the form of a well, and adjoining it are the bottling and 
carbonating rooms. When we had quenched our thirst 
with copious draughts of the water, which had only a slight 
mineral flavor and is quite pleasant to the taste, my com- 
panion filled his jug. The manager of the bottling works 
showed us some grayish powder which remains when the 
water is evaporated. A geologist who knows the district 
well afterwards told me that all the water comes from an 



256 MEXICO 

underground stream, and there is no difference between one 
well and another, despite my Texan friend's assertion to 
the contrary. 

As we returned to the hotel, my companion confided to 
me that his business was selling kitchen apphances, stoves 
and so on, to hotels. He knew all the dark secrets of the 
hotel kitchens in Mexico, and gave me the benefit of his long 
experience. He warned me against certain establishments 
in the capital. " Don't go to Blank's," he said, ^^if you want 
good vittles. That there place is inch deep in grease, and 
they have the dirtiest mozos in the city." ^'How about 
Dash's?" I asked, referring to a well-known establishment. 
" Clean outside, dirty in the back," he replied sententiously, 
with a deprecating shake of his head. ^' They use canned 
goods, too, and buy the cheapest stuff in the market." 
After listening to some of his horrible recitals, I was more 
than ever impressed with the truth of the familiar saying 
that ignorance is sometimes bliss. 

During my stay at Tehuacan I took a walk over the 
hills near the hotel, which were thickly covered with cactus 
of every shape and size. One was a straight specimen, 
as tall as a lamp-post, covered with ugly prickles. There 
were round cacti looking like colossal hedgehogs. Others 
resembled the huge, straight-leaved aloe, but were armed 
with formidable spikes. Then there was another with a 
gnarled trunk, like that of a small oak tree, with great ex- 
tending branches arranged like the pipes of an organ and 
called the organ cactus. There was also a species which 
had great flat leaves, and when these were shaken there 
seemed to be quantities of liquid swishing about inside them. 
Some of the cacti bore a sort of prickly pear fruit; some 
had white and others flaming red blossoms. These cactus- 
covered hills would have delighted the heart of a botanist. 
Sickly, diminutive specimens of these plants are sometimes 




N a-" 
^ Z 



A MEXICAN CARLSBAD 257 

seen in northern hothouses bearing long Latin names and 
labelled ^^ Native of Mexico." Here they were growing on 
their native heath in magnificent perfection. 

The town of Tehuacan is more than ordinarily attractive, 
with its pretty plazas and its wide streets which have rows 
of trees in the centre of them. Outside some of the old- 
fashioned Spanish mansions are curiously curled iron 
brackets for holding the street-lamps. Tehuacan was an 
Indian town long before the Conquest. The present town, 
which has a population of ten thousand, was founded by 
the Spaniards in 1524. Its business is still largely in the 
hands of Spaniards, some of whom are direct descendants of 
the families that came over from Spain four hundred years 
ago. It is a quiet, sleepy place, and was rarely heard of until 
the advent of the railway transformed it into a health 
resort. 

With a really good, up-to-date hotel, Tehuacan, with 
its mineral springs, its fine climate and its beautiful scenery, 
would become a resort well worth visiting, and one where 
many classes of visitors could regain health and strength. 
Under present conditions, however, there are too many 
hardships to be endured to make it attractive to people 
accustomed to comfortable living. Mexicans do not seem 
to mind discomforts so much as Europeans and Americans 
do ; and they patronize the place all the year round, some 
of them coming from long distances. From Tehuacan there 
was until recently a horse tramway line of thirty miles to 
Esperanza on the Mexican Railway (the line from Vera 
Cruz to Mexico City). This has just been converted into 
a steam railway. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE VALLEY OF OAXACA 

In the matter of scenic attractions there are few rail- 
ways in the world which can equal that from Tehuacan to 
Oaxaca. As a feat of engineering the line is also wonderful ; 
for in the one hundred and fifty miles between the two 
places it ascends and descends thousands of feet, passing 
through deep valleys, threading narrow gorges, winding 
upwards among the mountain heights, and taking the travel- 
ler through the heart of the hot lands and the sub-tropics. 
It is true that it takes fully eight hours to make this journey, 
and the dust, in the dry season, is appalling; but there is 
so much to interest one on the way that the dust is forgotten 
and the hours slip by unnoticed. 

On this fascinating trip I started early one morning when 
the gray hills of Tehuacan were gleaming in the brilliant 
sunshine beneath the wonderful blue Mexican sky. It was 
a fair specimen of the delightful weather I had enjoyed 
during my stay at the springs, and it made the '^northers" 
of my first Mexican experiences seem like some fantastic 
dream. 

My Texas friend — he of the kidney — came down to the 
station to see me depart, and he had a parting word of 
advice to give me. As the train was moving off, he re- 
marked solemnly: ^^Keep yourself filled with Tehuacan 
water, and you'll fool all the doctors and undertakers." 
With this lugubrious farewell I started for Oaxaca. 

The first, second, and third class cars of the train were 

258 



THE VALLEY OF O AX AC A 259 

all well filled with passengers, the latter being literally 
packed with peons, chatting, drinking, smoking and enjoy- 
ing themselves as they always seem to do on their aimless 
wanderings. In the car in which I travelled there were 
three American passengers ; the others were all Mexicans. 
The railway men — the conductor, engineer and brake- 
men — were also Mexican and spoke no English. This 
is not customary in Mexico, for many of the lines, particu- 
larly those built with American capital, employ English- 
speaking conductors at least. 

The weather was warm in Tehuacan, but in a few hours 
it was still warmer, for the train made a steady descent into 
the hot country. Passing through a wide valley, it skirted 
a range of towering limestone hills which at times reach 
the height of mountains ; it ran through immense fields of 
sugar-cane of vivid green ; and at last clumps of date-palms 
could be seen, a usual indication of a warm climate and 
lower altitude. At Tecomovaca the line enters a great 
amphitheatre of lofty mountains, far up on the sides of 
which nestle clusters of adobe huts, marking the spots where 
Indian villages have been built almost at the level of the 
clouds. Rocks of varied tints that have been worn into 
all sorts of strange shapes by the action of water attract 
the eye, while the views on every side are wild and grand, 
greatly resembling those in some of the most picturesque 
parts of Colorado. 

Through a deep canon, bordered by a rushing, roaring, 
foam-covered river the train ran onward, skirting moun- 
tains which towered thousands of feet skyward, with peaks 
and crags of fantastic shape. Through canon after canon, 
and through more rocky valleys, and the line at last reached 
its lowest altitude of 1767 feet and the little wayside sta- 
tion of Tomellin, a veritable oasis in the rocky desert, where 
our train stopped for luncheon. This place is in the true 



260 MEXICO 

hot country, which well maintained its reputation, for 
the heat was sweltering. The scene, however, was charm- 
ing, the station being set in the midst of tropical trees 
covered with strange fruits, and in the branches of which 
chattered bright-plumaged birds. But more inviting 
even than these to the dusty, weary travellers was the rail- 
way restaurant where luncheon was served, its thick stone 
walls and tiled floor furnishing a welcome retreat from 
the roasting atmosphere outside. Bustling about, superin- 
tending the waiters and exchanging greetings in Spanish 
and English with his guests, was the manager of the es- 
tablishment, ^'Dick, the Chinaman,'^ quite a well-known 
character. He furnishes hungry travellers with excellent 
meals which are long and gratefully remembered. 

After leaving Tomellin, the train began to ascend, wind- 
ing round curve after curve, between mountains of im- 
pressive height and grandeur until it reached the summit 
at Las Sedas (6304 feet). Here a fine panorama unfolds, 
the mountain ranges rising one above the other and fading 
in the distance, the setting sun tingeing each with a differ- 
ent hue. Later on, the country assumed a more cultivated 
appearance, a few green, irrigated fields were occasionally 
to be seen, while here and there were masses of magenta 
bougainvillea and varied tints of crimson and pink flowers. 
In this part of the country there are many haciendas, with 
their great houses, granaries, churches and hosts of peons, 
reminding one of the baronial domains of feudal times. 

A Mexican who had been travelling in our train — a very 
unimposing person — got off at a small station where there 
was waiting a sort of old-fashioned, lumbering stage-coach 
drawn by six mules, and about a dozen horsemen in the 
Mexican national costume, — tight trousers, bolero coats 
and sombreros, — each with a rifle strapped to his back. 
This Mexican, it transpired, was the owner of a large haci- 



THE VALLEY OF O AX AC A 261 

enda in the neighborhood, and these were his retainers 
who had come to escort him home. After an exchange of 
salutations, the magnate entered the coach, the cavalcade 
fell in at the rear and off they galloped amidst a cloud of 
dust. 

Towards evening the journey drew to a close, and I wit- 
nessed another of those strange contrasts which are so 
characteristic of Mexican travel. One moment we were 
passing through what seemed to be a wild country without 
a habitation in sight; then suddenly electric lights shone 
out along the roads and a city appeared. It was half -past 
six, and we had reached Oaxaca. 

The journey had been very trying, for the heat had been 
almost unbearable until the sun went down, and the dust 
came through the windows in perfect clouds. These dis- 
comforts are, of course, experienced to a much less extent 
by those fortunate tourists who can charter a special train 
composed of Pullman cars. Travelling in this way, they 
can escape a good deal of the dust, have iced drinks to cool 
their parched throats, and cover the distance far more 
quickly than in the ordinary train. Many of the large 
excursion parties that come down from the United States 
during the winter months travel in this, the proper, way to 
''do" Mexico. Rather a strong constitution is required to 
enjoy such a trip as that from Puebla to Oaxaca in an 
ordinary train. At the same time one must needs feel 
grateful to the railway company, when comparing the 
present with the past; for it is not so many years ago 
that people who travelled to Oaxaca were obliged to make 
the journey in jolting stage-coaches over terrible roads. 
Nor is the railway company responsible for the discomforts 
of travel, which are mostly due to chmatic conditions. 

It is of interest to add that the Mexican Southern Rail- 
way, which connects Puebla with Oaxaca, is owned by an 



262 MEXICO 

English company and was opened in 1893. The company 
received a bonus of ten million dollars from the Mexican 
government^ and if it had not received this subsidy it is 
certain that the line could not have paid its way. There 
are so few places of any importance between the two ter- 
minal points that the receipts must be very small. But it 
has opened up a rich agricultural and mineral district in 
the Valley of Oaxaca, and it will probably develop into a 
profitable property in the future. 

A mule-car takes passengers from the railway station 
in the outskirts of Oaxaca to the centre of the city in ten 
minutes. I got into one of the cars and made the trip 
through the narrow streets . The houses along the way were 
much lower than those at Puebla, being mostly of one 
story; they were of the same flat-roofed style, but every- 
thing seemed to be on a much more primitive scale. As 
in Puebla also the streets had a wide central gutter and were 
paved with cobble-stones. On the way the car passed a 
little market-place where Indians squatted beside their 
wares, their ^^ pitches" lighted with flickering oil lamps. 
It was Christmas week, and large numbers of these dark- 
skinned, blanketed folk had come in from the country to 
do their shopping. There were many of them in the streets 
walking, sitting along the curb, hanging about the street 
corners and passing in and out of the drinking places. 

The car stopped at a large plaza in which stands the 
cathedral and several public buildings ; and not far distant 
was a hotel where I found quarters. It was the usual 
Spanish mansion, partly rebuilt and changed into a hotel, 
rather crudely furnished and conducted in a slightly wild- 
western fashion. Several mining men — Western Amer- 
icans — were staying here, some alone and some with their 
families. Among these Americans was one of a type rather 
too common in Mexico. He spent his time loafing about 



THE VALLEY OF O AX AC A 263 

the place discussing '^ schemes" and mines with -anybody 
who would talk with him, posing as a mining expert. By 

some of his friends he was called ^^ Professor ." His 

wife — such is the faith of womankind — seemed to regard 
him as a great genius. Some time afterwards, while talking 
with a mine-owner of the district, an American, I happened 
to mention the professor as a mining authority. The 
mining man shook his head dubiously. ^'I never heard of 
the professor," he said. When I told him that I referred 
to the man at the hotel, and mentioned his name, he ex- 
claimed, ''Well, well, calls himself a mining expert, does he ? 
Why, he used to be my carpenter, and a d — d bad carpen- 
ter too." 

I took my evening meal in the hotel dining-room, a rather 
unattractive apartment paved with tiles and furnished 
with the usual small tables and hard wooden chairs. Two 
Indian criadors (waitresses) who served the guests were 
swarthy and black-eyed, had long plaits of hair hanging 
down their backs and wore the popular speckled-blue dress 
and rebosa. They were picturesque but unkempt. An 
American mining man sat at my table and I chatted with 
him. One of the waitresses sauntered up and some pleas- 
antries in Spanish passed between them. The bold criador 
playfully tapped him on the head with a plate, he made 
a movement as if to snatch it, and she went off giggling. 
"You have to jolly 'em along to get good vittles in this 
place," he said to me, half apologetically, seeing that I was 
shocked at such goings-on. A Chinaman, who acted as 
both cook and waiter, took a hand at waiting occasionally, 
cracking jokes with the criadors in Spanish with a Chinese 
accent. It was all very amusing. 

After my frugal meal I went out for a stroll about the 
town; the evening was fine and balmy, much milder, in 
fact, than our average May evening in the Eastern States. 



264 MEXICO 

There was a full moon and the stars were sparkling in the 
clear tropical sky. 

Oaxaca stands 5067 feet above sea-level, and at this 
height in Mexico one always get a mild, healthful temper- 
ature. 

The old triple-towered cathedral, founded in 1563, is an 
ancient, imposing and picturesque pile. It stands on one 
side of a large stone-paved plaza, on the other side of which 
is a row of shops or stores, rather gloomy and cavernous, 
such as are seen in old Spanish towns. On another side 
is the Municipal Palace, and further on the Post-office and 
Courts of Justice, all fine buildings of white stone with the 
usual patios. Adjoining the cathedral square is the Plaza 
Mayor, centred by the usual band-stand and planted 
with fine old shady trees and bright-hued flowers, such as 
hibiscus and poinsettia, all in full bloom. There were also 
several orange trees bearing their golden fruit. 

The seats in the plaza were filled with Mexicans of all 
shades, and there were also a good many Americans — 
Western mining men, from their appearance. As I strolled 
past them I occasionally heard such remarks as, '' Richest 

ore in the whole country." '^ Millions in sight," '^ The 

biggest bonanza ever struck," and so on. There, too, 
was my old friend the ''man with the scheme," showing 
his companions a chunk of ore supposed to represent 
fabulous wealth. 

On one side of the plaza, beneath the portales or arcades, 
were several drinking saloons. Outside some of them were 
small tables at which more Americans were seated, imbibing 
the national rye whiskey, and discussing American politics 
in loud tones. Blanketed Indians lounged against the stone 
columns, regarding the Americans with lethargic curiosity ; 
Indian women in their blue rebosas squatted against the 
walls, selhng cakes and dulces. At another end of the plaza 



THE VALLEY OF O AX AC A 265 

some enterprising citizen had started an American boot- 
polishing stand, with a row of chairs on a low platform, 
with foot-rests before them. Several ragged young Indians 
accosted passers-by with "Shine, boss, diez centavos," 
and wiled away the time by romping about the pavement, 
indulging in all kinds of horseplay. 

Facing the plaza stands the Government Palace, the 
residence of the governor and the meeting place of the State 
Legislature, Oaxaca being the capital of the State of the same 
name. A sentry in a white linen uniform, with a rifle and 
fixed bayonet over his shoulder, marched back and forth in 
front of the principal entrance. There is, in this respect, 
a great difference between a Mexican and an American city. 
In the smallest town in Mexico there is always the armed 
sentinel on guard outside the official building — the emblem 
of governmental authority. In an American country town, 
as we all know, there is not even a policeman, and half a 
dozen old citizens may perhaps be seen, sitting outside the 
courthouse or city hall, whittling wood with their pocket- 
knives and talking politics. Such easy-going ways would 
not do in Mexico ; for there the sight of the armed sentry, 
typical of force and the iron hand, is needed to impress 
the natives with the dignity of the government. What is 
suitable for the Anglo-Saxon is not suitable for the still semi- 
civilized Indian and the treacherous, half-bred Latin. 

With a population of forty thousand, Oaxaca is quite a 
large place. It has several pretty parks and public squares 
in various quarters, and many of the stores and other busi- 
ness houses would do credit to a much larger city. Among 
the public buildings are a scientific institute, a seminary, 
an historical museum and a public library. Branching off 
from the plaza are some of the principal streets, full of shops 
and other business places, several of the largest owned by 
Germans. There, too, one sees the usual signs of the Amer- 



266 MEXICO 

ican invasion — the "American Grocery Co./' the American 
druggist, the doctors, the dentists and two American banks. 
The town also has a weekly American newspaper, the 
Oaxaca Herald. An American club has also been started 
and to this most of the Enghsh-speaking residents belong. 
The members are chiefly men interested in mining, the ma- 
jority Americans, the others being Englishmen and Welsh- 
men. This club has some very comfortable rooms in the 
Casino Building near the main plaza, where I afterwards 
met a number of pleasant fellows and heard many a weird 
and wonderful story about the mineral wealth of southern 
Mexico. 

Oaxaca is a progressive place, and many improvements 
are being made. In the course of another year, so I was 
informed, the rough cobble-stone streets were to be repaved 
with asphalt, and the mule-cars, which already run out into 
the country for several miles, were to be replaced with elec- 
tric traction. 

Although it was hardly nine o'clock when I took my 
evening stroll, nearly all the shops were closed; for all 
Mexican cities believe strongly in early closing. A street- 
car occasionally jingled by and gave a touch of life to the 
quiet streets, but very few people were to be seen. In 
the residential part of the town, where there were quaint, 
low houses, with balconies and heavily barred windows, I 
suddenly came upon a more animated scene. Hearing the 
strains of music, I wandered up one of the streets, where I 
found an excellent military band serenading the house of 
some prominent citizen. The Indian musicians, in blue 
uniforms, were playing the Pilgrims' March from Tann- 
hauser in wonderfully good style. A large crowd of peons 
in their red blankets and great sombreros had gathered in 
the street and were squatting along the pavement and on 
the door-steps. Indian women stood in groups, enjoying 



THE VALLEY OF OAXACA 267 

a bit of gossip. Senoritas leaned from the upper balconies 
of the houses, while their faithful bears stood below, looking 
upwards at their divinities and chattering away so con- 
tinuously that they must have had terrible cricks in their 
necks. The moonlight, the music and the tender passion 
probably made them oblivious to such a material thing. Al- 
together, in its strange contrasts of blanketed Indians and 
Tannhauser, tattered Indian women and charming senoritas, 
it was a wonderfully picturesque and typical Mexican scene. 

The next day being Saturday and market-day, I first 
of all paid a visit to the local market. Along the roads 
leading into the city from the country came droves of bur- 
ros, loaded with fruit and vegetables, butter and other 
merchandise, driven by blanketed Indians. Queer old 
carts with wheels cut out of solid sections of trees, went 
lumbering by, drawn by a couple of oxen, to the accom- 
paniment of loud cracks of the whip and constant ^'arres'' 
(ah-rays) shouted by the drivers, the r's being sounded with 
the long-drawn trill. The Mexican custom of yoking the 
cattle by the horns seems very cruel, as the heads of the 
animals are dragged down almost to the ground. 

Indians on foot and burro and horseback — men and 
women — went by in a swarthy procession. Some of them 
had come over a hundred miles to the market and had been 
travelling for days. From the hot lands, still farther south, 
the goods brought to market were chiefly fruits, — oranges, 
bananas, cocoanuts, limes, pomegranates, aguacates, guana- 
banas and a variety of luscious, fruity nuts. There was also 
farm produce, — chickens, turkeys and ducks, eggs and 
cheese and what not. Women balanced on their heads 
huge baskets loaded with such wares, sometimes carrying 
by the legs, in the usual Mexican fashion, a brace of live 
chickens. On the backs of some were slung brown-skinned, 
tangle-haired babies, staring out from the dirty wraps which 



268 MEXICO 

enfolded them, with bUnking eyes, upon the world which 
was so strange to them. The Indian families brought all 
their household essentials with them, a tin pot for drinking 
and cooking, a few tortillas, some firewood, and a little 
coffee ; the whole stock of provisions and utensils probably 
does not exceed in value one or two dollars ; but the peon's 
travelhng needs are few. His lodging costs nothing, for 
he sleeps under the stars, and he will have to buy nothing 
but a little fruit, a few beans and some spirits. His chil- 
dren often, and his wife always, accompany the peon on his 
travels, for she fears desertion if he once goes away alone. 

The procession of Indians constantly reminded me of 
scenes in the East, particularly those Biblical pictures of 
desert travelling, the donkeys, the ox-carts, the women 
balancing their loads on their shapely heads like the 
daughters of the Nile, and in the background the white 
walls, red tiled-roofs and domes of Oaxaca almost like a 
bit of Bagdad or Cairo. 

The objective of all these processions was, of course, the 
market-place — a great walled enclosure on the outskirts 
of the town. This was packed with a motley crowd of 
Indian men and women, wandering about intent on making* 
hard bargains, and the air was filled with the constant 
hum and buzz of their voices. No one seemed to be dis- 
turbed by the dogs, pigs and donkeys in the market, whose 
barks, grunts and brays added their quota to the general 
din. Near the entrance were the stands of the butchers, 
where small pieces of very dark-looking and rather high- 
smehing meat were being hacked and torn to the size de- 
sired by the purchasers. Dealers in fried meats were doing 
a roaring business, shces of pork and beef being served 
smoking hot to hungry peons by old dames who did their 
cooking over small braziers filled with glowing charcoal. 
The food was amazingly cheap : for five cents a peon could 



THE VALLEY OF OAXACA 269 

relieve the pangs of hunger; while for a dime he could enjoy 
a veritable gorge. 

Although it was Christmas time, Oaxaca was ablaze with 
sunshine, the weather being more balmy and much more 
delightful than the fairest day in an English midsummer. 
The stalls of the fruit and vegetable sellers were loaded with 
a tempting array of new potatoes, luscious tomatoes, large 
radishes, peas, beans and cabbages. There were oranges, 
bananas, pineapples, limes and plantains fresh from the 
hot lands as well as aguacates (the vegetable salad), gran- 
aditas, mangoes, granadas, cocoanuts and prickly pears. 
The fruit and vegetables were attractively arranged in 
little piles on large banana leaves, while such things as 
dried beans, Indian corn, chilis and eggs were spread on 
clean cloths. In gayly painted gourds there were sweets, 
rich preserves and cakes, while here and there was a bare- 
footed Indian girl selHng cream cheese and lumps of unre- 
fined brown sugar. There were also stalls where thirsty 
souls could quaff the freshly extracted juice of the pine- 
apple, lime or tamarind, or imbibe mugsful of the evil- 
smelhng pulque. The stall-keepers sat behind their little 
piles of merchandise smoking cigarettes, these booths with 
the jostling crowds which surrounded them making the 
place almost impassable. 

In one corner of the market were pigs and other live 
stock, chickens, ducks, turkeys and brightly colored par- 
rots. Next to these were stalls where sarapes, sombreros, 
cotton suits, rebosas and other articles of clothing were on 
sale. Baskets, mats and bright red pottery of fantastic 
shapes were sold in another quarter. But the flower stalls, 
with their fragrant and many-colored blossoms, formed 
the most attractive sight of all. Here, in this December 
week, were great masses of sweet-smeUing carnations and 
violets, with a wealth of crimson and white roses, helio- 



270 MEXICO 

trope, sweet-peas, pansies and wild orchids. An immense 
bouquet of these — all that you could carry — costs but a 
few cents. 

Oaxaca, like most Mexican cities, contains a number of 
fine old churches built in the days of Spanish domination, 
seven of them dating from the sixteenth century. Of 
these the most interesting is the Church of Santo Domingo, 
which is not only the most imposing of them all, but is 
one of the most important in Mexico. After it was built, 
the great gold-mining millionaires of the district lavished 
their wealth upon it. The life-size figures of saints, which 
are in relief, were literally covered with gold, and so rich 
and so heavy was the precious metal on the walls in former 
days that it could be easily removed. During revolution- 
ary periods, when soldiers were quartered in Oaxaca, the 
men frequently clamored for their pay, and as there were 
usually no funds, it was quite customary for the command- 
ing officers to say, "Go to Santo Domingo, boys, and help 
yourselves.'' Having recently been restored at enormous 
cost, the church is one of the most richly decorated edifices 
on the American continent. Its interior is a blaze of gold 
decoration and presents a magnificent sight. 

The restoration of Santo Domingo, the cathedral, and 
most of the other churches in and about Oaxaca is due to 
the energy of the archbishop. Dr. Gillow, one of the most 
popular ecclesiastics in Mexico. Archbishop Gillow, who 
is the son of an Englishman, was educated at Stonyhurst 
College, and afterwards spent some years in Rome. He 
has been at the head of the diocese of Oaxaca for over 
twenty years. 

Despite the renovating and modernizing which are in 
progress, Oaxaca has still an old-world appearance. It 
is situated in a broad valley surrounded by lofty hills and 
rocky, barren mountains of reddish tint, which form a 



TEE VALLEY OF O AX AC A 271 

striking background to the white city. Viewed from a 
distance, under a cloudless blue sky, the effect is wonder- 
fully beautiful. On one side of the city, lying close to the 
hills, the streets have a slight ascent, and streams of clear 
water flow down their central gutters from the waterworks 
which are out in that direction. 

Over three hundred years ago a Spanish traveller de- 
scribed Oaxaca as ''a not very big yet a fair and beautiful 
city." It was a place of some importance before the Span- 
iards came. The native inhabitants called it Huaxyacca, 
meaning 'Hhe place of the guages," because the guage tree, 
useful for its wood and fruit, abounds in the Oaxaca valley. 
The Spaniards who colonized the place in 1521 abbrevi- 
ated the name to Oaxaca. The Zapotecs inhabited Oaxaca 
and the surrounding country when the Spaniards came, 
and their descendants, the Zapotec Indians, still living 
there, speak the Zapotec dialect as well as Spanish. Cortes 
owned vast properties in this part of Mexico, and Charles 
the Fifth of Spain bestowed on him the title of Marquis of 
the Valley of Oaxaca, for which reason he was generally 
called ''the Marquis." Oaxaca has a still more important 
part in Mexican history ; for it was here in 1806 that Benito 
Juarez was born, and in 1830 the city had the further 
honor of being the birthplace of the present great ruler of 
Mexico, General Porfirio Diaz. 

Oaxaca played a very important part in the revolutionary 
wars and in 1865 was taken by the French army under 
General Bazaine. The garrison was then commanded by 
General Diaz, who was captured, but afterwards escaped. 
A year later, at the head of a victorious Mexican army, 
he defeated the French, recaptured the city with all the 
French cannon, ammunition and stores, then marched on 
to Puebla and Mexico City. The remains of the old forts 
are still to be seen on the heights overlooking the town. 



CHAPTER XVII 

LUXUKIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 

Although Mexico is the greatest silver-producing coun- 
try in the world and is also rich in gold and other minerals, 
the average tourist sees very little of the great mining in- 
dustry. Nor is this surprising, for very few of the mines 
can be reached by railway, and to get to them one must 
oftentimes make long, tiring journeys on burro or horse- 
back over rough mountain trails. In this respect the city 
of Oaxaca is much more favorably situated, as a number 
of mines can be reached from there by a short railway 
journey or a day's horseback ride over fairly good roads. 

InOcotlan, Taviche, Ejutla, and other adjacent districts 
there are numerous mines producing gold, silver, copper 
and lead, the precious metals being invariably combined 
with other minerals. Some of these mines were worked 
in the early Spanish days and even in prehistoric times. 
One of the best known of them is the Natividad in the Ixtlan 
district, which is one of the oldest and richest in Mexico. 
It produces both silver and gold, and from an original 
capital of 125,000 has yielded many milHons in dividends. 
Most of these mines are controlled by foreigners, chiefly 
Americans, some being operated by stock companies, others 
by individual owners. This has brought a number of 
American mining men into Oaxaca and also a few English, 
Welsh and Canadian mining engineers. 

During my stay in Oaxaca I was introduced to Mr. 
W. H. Baird of Pittsburg, manager of the Zavaleta gold 

272 




TORTILLA MAKING. 
Indian women grinding corn on the metate. 




MEXICAN REBECCAS. 
Indian maidens at the village spring. 



LUXURIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 273 

mine, some twenty miles out. Upon learning that I wished 
to see something of the mining industry, he invited me to 
spend a few days at Zavaleta, which invitation I gladly 
accepted. 

It was arranged that we should start for the mine the 
same afternoon, and forthwith a horse was found for me, 
equipped with an American saddle, a great luxury for an 
unhardened rider, as the heavy Mexican saddle is usually 
very uncomfortable on first acquaintance. Just as we were 
starting on our journey we were joined by another American 
known as Don Carlos, — his name was Charles, — who had 
been employed at the mine, but was now prospecting on 
his own account and was going out to Zavaleta to spend 
Christmas with his friends. 

It was about one o'clock when we mounted our horses 
and rode off through the cobble-paved streets; and as it 
was market day, we had to pick our way among a procession 
of burros, ox-carts and Indians, some still straggling in 
from the country and others already leaving for their 
homes. The road that we took led down to a wide, shallow 
river with a long stretch of sandy bed on each side of it. 
Although the stream was spanned by a bridge, we crossed 
by a ford lower down, thus saving about half a mile. Most 
of the Indians took the same short cut, some removing their 
sandals and wading through the water, others splashing 
through on their horses and burros. Most of them had two 
or three ugly looking curs trotting at their heels ; for how- 
ever poor an Indian may be, he is never too poor to keep a 
hungry pack of mongrel dogs. After crossing the river, a 
gallop along a very dusty road soon brought us to the open 
country. 

The road after a short distance became a mere trail, and 
at times when we left it to take a short cut our horses had 
to climb up steep, rocky paths among brush and cactus, 



274 MEXICO 

performing the feat with wonderful agihty. For mountain- 
chmbing the Mexican horses are unexcelled. 

All around us were the towering, barren mountains, 
bordering a rocky plain, occasionally planted with maguey, 
and here and there was a bright green patch of sugar-cane 
or vegetables where irrigation was in progress. Occasion- 
ally we passed the crumbling stonework which marks the 
ancient irrigation conduits which were in use long before 
the Spaniards came to Mexico. The pre-Conquest natives 
of these valleys were an industrious race, and there is hardly 
a hill or hollow where it was possible to collect a little soil 
that has not been cultivated at some time. These plains, 
most of which are now arid in the dry months, were then 
kept fresh and luxuriant. 

Among the bright green patches which here and there 
we passed would be seen a square adobe hut with a few 
shady trees, a perfectly Oriental picture. Sometimes there 
would be a herd of goats watched by a solitary shepherd 
with his crook, in the truly BibHcal way. Once we passed 
a bare-legged ploughman in his white linen suit and big 
straw sombrero, ploughing with a yoke of oxen, using an 
ancient one-bladed wooden plough such as is seen in East- 
ern lands. Above was a cloudless sky, and the sun streamed 
down with tropical intensity. We were glad to take a rest 
at a wayside spring where the Indian Rebeccas from a 
neighboring pueblo (village) were filling their cantaros or 
tall red water-pitchers and going off with them balanced on 
their heads. 

An American clergyman whom I met in Puebla told 
me that during a long residence in Mexico he had been 
greatly impressed with the numerous illustrations of Bib- 
heal customs that he found in the life of the people. Some 
of these had been introduced by the Spaniards, who, at the 
time of the Conquest, had retained many of the usages of 



LUXUBIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 275 

the Moors, who had only recently been driven from Spain. 
Many of the customs, however, were in common use already 
when the Spaniards came to Mexico, and have been supposed 
by some authorities to point to the Oriental origin of the 
Aztecs or their predecessors. 

On our way we passed a hill with a picturesque ruin, an 
old domed church, built by the Spaniards early in the six- 
teenth century. Tradition says that it was built by Cortes, 
and that he immured one of his numerous wives in the con- 
vent adjoining it. Mexico is full of legends of the great 
Conqueror and his wives; at one place you are shown 
the house where he is said to have strangled one of them ; 
at another, a well where he drowned one; and another, 
where he is said to have poisoned one. 

Zavaleta is about fifteen hundred feet higher than Oaxaca, 
so that our ride was a gradual ascent. About halfway the 
country changed, the barren, sun-baked mountains giving 
place to towering heights of three and four thousand feet; 
covered with trees, most of them beautifully green. The 
air also grew much cooler. Onward we rode, up hill and 
down dale, along rocky roads, some of them so steep that 
our horses in descending almost slid down, their haunches 
being so much higher than their forelegs. Sometimes we 
forded a brawling stream which dashed along its rocky 
bed, winding in and out among the mountains. At last, 
about four o'clock, our journey came to an end and we 
entered the valley of Zavaleta, as wild as any glen in the 
remote Scottish Highlands. 

A foaming stream, rushing down from the mountains, 
wound through the middle of the valley, leaping through 
a succession of beautiful cascades. Our road was about a 
hundred feet above this, and on the opposite side of the 
valley was a small group of huts of adobe, each standing 
in a small cultivated patch. Outside these the Indian 



276 MEXICO 

women were squatting, busily patting their tortillas, pre- 
paring the evening meal ; the Indian children were playing 
about in their solemn way ; and the pungent smoke of the 
village fires was slowly rising in the air. 

We passed the crushing works or stamp-mill, where the 
ore is ground, the mountain stream furnishing the power 
for this and also for the electric-light plant. A short dis- 
tance beyond we reached a veritable oasis in the desert, 
a spot of marvellous beauty. Two picturesque stone 
houses, which furnished quarters for the manager of the 
mine and his assistants, were surrounded by beautiful irri- 
gated gardens filled with trees and flowering plants in won- 
derful variety. The houses themselves were covered with 
magenta bougainvillea in full bloom; the gardens were 
bright with red and white roses, pansies, violets, camelHas, 
scarlet hibiscus, red poinsettia and jasmine, filling the air 
with exquisite perfume. Through the gardens ran streams 
of clear water, irrigating them and keeping them perpetu- 
ally green. 

Baird told me that the houses were built and the gardens 
laid out by an Englishman interested in archeology who 
had formerly owned the mine. He had lived in the valley 
for several years, and while looking after the mine had ex- 
plored the prehistoric ruins in that part of the country. 
He eventually sold the property to an American syndicate. 
Baird added: "If we had started the mine, you wouldn't 
have found a place like this. American mining men always 
work first and play afterwards, living in any kind of an old 
shanty until the mine has been developed and is paying. 
Englishmen usually do just the reverse. There is a mine 
in this district," he continued, "which belonged to an Eng- 
lish company, and they sent out some young Englishmen 
to run it. The first thing they did was to build comfortable 
houses and make a good road to the town, so that they 



LUXURIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 277 

could gallop in there occasionally on their fast horses. 
Then they laid in a fine stock of provisions, all kinds of 
canned things, lots of wine, and lived like fighting-cocks. 
It wasn't surprising that the company couldn't pay divi- 
dends. Finally they sacked the Englishmen and employed 
some rough-and-ready, hard-working Americans, and are 
now getting a fair profit on the investment." 

In point of solid comfort Zavaleta was far ahead of any- 
thing I had experienced in Puebla or even Mexico City. 
Not only were the houses at the mine cosily furnished and 
electric lighted, but they had — joyful sight ! — open fire- 
places; and when the sun sank behind the mountains, crac- 
kling wood fires were started, and one could sit down and 
positively enjoy life. Being nearly seven thousand feet 
above sea-level, with cool streams running through it, the 
valley has the usual characteristics of a mountain place. 
During the winter months it usually loses sight of the sun 
before five o'clock in the evening, and when the long shad- 
ows fall the air soon grows chilly ; by night it is quite sharp. 

The view from the porch of Baird's house was superb; 
all around were towering mountains covered with dense 
woods; and there were varied tints in the fohage which 
strongly reminded me of autumn scenes in our White 
Mountains. Each of the houses had an Indian woman 
acting as housekeeper, and during my stay we had very 
good meals, plain food but well cooked, and the keen 
mountain air was a great stimulus to the appetite. 

On the following day, which was Sunday, I inspected 
the mine, which was about half a mile from the houses, and 
consisted of several tunnels driven into the side of a neigh- 
boring mountain. Along these tunnels tramway rails were 
laid, small trucks taking the ore from the mine down the 
fine to the stamp-mill below, where it was put in the crusher. 
The tunnels were lit with electric hght, and as most of them 



278 MEXICO 

were quite dry, the miner's work was not unhealthy. About 
twenty peons were employed. 

While I was in the mine Baird called my attention to a 
rude shrine near the entrance, consisting of a small hollow 
in the rock which held a rough wooden cross. Before com- 
mencing work, he said, it was the custom of the miners to 
pause at the shrine and say an Ave Maria, which was sup- 
posed to preserve them from accidents and bring them 
good luck in striking rich ore. The same custom is fol- 
lowed by Mexican bricklayers, who when erecting a build- 
ing always set up their crosses in the scaffolding, firmly 
believing that these will protect them against falls. In 
factories, too, small shrines are usually set into the walls of 
the various work-rooms. 

Baird's mining foreman was a very intelligent German 
called Gus, who came from a small town near Bingen on the 
Rhine. Having been apprenticed to a florist in his youthful 
days, he was something of a botanist, and when he was not 
at work in the mine he was always pottering about, the 
gardens looking after the flowers. Another member of 
the staff was an American named Green, hailing from Bos- 
ton, who superintended the stamp-mill and made assays 
of the ores, being a skilled metallurgist. 

The gold in the Zavaleta rock is mixed with a certain 
proportion of silver, iron and copper. During my stay I 
saw the whole process of gold extraction. The ore, on 
being taken down to the mill, passed under six heavy iron 
stampers, which were continually stamping down like steam 
hammers, hence the name — stamp-mill. These pulverized 
the ore into powder, which was then passed over a long, 
slanting metal table coated with quicksilver. Water was 
kept flowing over this table at the same time, and the pow- 
dered ore was thus converted into a sort of thin mud. All 
the free gold in it — that is, gold unmixed with any other 



LUXURIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 279 

mineral — amalgamated with the quicksilver. The rest 
of the mud, containing gold combined with other minerals, 
ran into a box called the '^ concentration box." There it 
was dried, eventually made into bricquettes and sent to a 
smelter where the gold was extracted. The mud contain- 
ing no mineral runs off in a different direction and is called 
"the tailings." For over half a mile along the stream below 
the mill the bank was covered with tailings, and the stream 
itself was milky white from the waste running into it. 
Every day or so the quicksilver is scraped from the table 
and taken to the laboratory and there, with the aid of a 
furnace, a crucible and other apparatus. Green separated 
the gold from the quicksilver, the gold remaining in the 
shape of a small disc varying in size according to the rich- 
ness of the ore taken from the mine. 

Oaxaca is one of the richest mining States in Mexico, 
and quite near to the city Baird pointed out to me some 
rocks which he said contained a percentage of copper. 
The country between Sonora, on the borders of the United 
States, and Oaxaca is the richest in minerals of all Mexico. 
It is as yet but half realized by foreign capitalists what vast 
wealth still Hes hidden there. Cecil Rhodes is said to have 
once declared, "I am not blind to the union of opinion as 
expressed by scientists and experts that Mexico will one 
day furnish the gold, silver, copper and precious stones 
that will build the empires of to-morrow and make future 
cities of the world veritable New Jerusalems." 

Enterprise and capital, particularly the latter, are the 
essentials necessary for the great mining developments in 
the Repubhc, which a few years will probably witness. 
Good properties are not to be obtained for nothing, and the 
carpet-bag exploiter must ever meet with disappointments. 
The Mexican government is thoroughly alive to the value 
of the land, and good mining concessions are not in the gift 



280 MEXICO 

of the ''man with a scheme " and a piece of ore in his pocket. 
Many of the richest of the old Spanish workings will yield 
sooner or later, in return for a generous outlay of capital, 
fortunes for companies willing and able to take up con- 
cessions seriously and install machinery which will make 
possible what could not be effected by the antiquated 
methods of the seventeenth century. 

The Spaniards overlooked very little of the best yielding 
properties ; but here and there are districts which are almost 
virgin. For example, southwest of Oaxaca, and not far 
from the wonderful ruins of Mitla, are to be found free mill- 
ing gold ores on which work has only just begun. Close 
at hand are the copper mines of San Baltazar, believed to 
be the place from which the ancient inhabitants obtained 
the copper used in the manufacture of the axes and other 
tools employed in the hewing and shaping of the great stones 
of which the Mitla palaces are built. 

The Mexican mining laws, which are very liberal, give 
foreigners the same rights as Mexicans. Boards are estab- 
lished in every mining community to look after mining 
interests. Any one who discovers mineral can take up a 
claim by what is called ''denouncing" it before the board. 
The ordinary claim is called a pertencia and is a hundred 
metres square, containing therefore ten thousand square 
metres. A tax of ten dollars must be paid annually to 
protect the claim from forfeiture. According to the govern- 
ment reports, over twelve thousand claims have been re- 
corded. The Mexican government claims only a twenty- 
fifth part of the proceeds of a mine ; a fifth was exacted by 
the Spanish viceroys in the good old days. 

Possession of a claim gives no right to the surface ground 
within its boundaries, and all parts occupied have to be 
settled for separately. There is, however, never any diffi- 
culty about this, as the surface ground can be expropriated 



LUXURIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 281 

from the owner if any trouble is experienced, and as a rule 
no compensation whatever is demanded. According to 
law, the owner of land can demand compensation only for 
the ground on the surface actually occupied by the miners 
and their buildings. The ownership of the land does not 
extend more than a certain number of feet under the soil, 
so that only the surface land actually occupied has to be 
paid for. After a miner has once settled for the entrance 
to the mine, he can drive his tunnels for miles beneath the 
ground without paying anything further. I may add that 
there is little or no placer mining in Mexico; nuggets do 
not lie about in the mountains or in the streams as in 
Klondike and other gold-fields. Nearly all the gold is 
mixed with other minerals and must be extracted by the 
process already described or by what is called the ''cyan- 
ide process," which is much more compHcated and expen- 
sive. The ore in the Zavaleta mine was blasted out with 
dynamite and also removed with drills and other miner's 
tools, and then broken into convenient size with sledge- 
hammers for the stamp-mill. 

Hundreds of American adventurers in Mexico go out 
prospecting for gold and silver, and if they discover a rich 
deposit they can start a gold or silver mine, provided they 
have enough money to pay the small government tax, 
settle with the native under whose land the mineral is 
situated and do a little preliminary work. In cases where 
mineral is found on public lands, no charge is made by the 
government for the surface land occupied, and only the tax 
has to be paid. Sometimes a prospector will strike some- 
thing rich and manage to sell out to capitahsts and thus 
make a fortune. 

Green and Gus were both practical mining men, and had 
worked in gold and silver mines in Colorado. They had 
been prospecting round Zavaleta, and having discovered 



282 MEXICO 

that the vein of Baird's mine extended to a mountain still 
farther on, they obtained a concession for mining there and 
had driven a tunnel into the mountain side. Some good 
ore had already been found, and they expected to find even- 
tually a purchaser for the property and so become rich. I 
rode out with them to see their mine the day after my 
arrival. The way was rough and rocky, and our horses 
had to climb up nearly a thousand feet to reach the place, 
the trail winding round the side of a ravine, where a false 
step would have sent horse and rider down an awful preci- 
pice. While crossing the stream which runs through the 
Zavaleta valley I noticed beautifully cool, placid pools 
where trout might lie, but there was not even a minnow. 
I was told that there are no trout in any of these mountain 
streams. A few of the rivers in Oaxaca have fish in them, 
but they are not prolific, which is probably due to the law- 
less methods of the Indians, who use fine nets, poison the 
water and even blow up the fish with dynamite. 

Up in the mountains above the valley the air was de- 
lightfully cool even at midday. The mountain sides were 
thickly wooded, the rocky soil was covered with fine green 
grass, and beautiful ferns, from the delicate maiden-hair to 
the large, broad-leaved species, were growing luxuriantly. 
It was indeed almost impossible to realize that I was in 
the wilds of southern Mexico. I might have been in the 
woods of New England in early summer time or amid the 
Scottish Highlands, except that there were very few pine 
trees. Birds, too, seemed to be scarce in these woods, and 
save for an occasional whistle or chirp, silence reigned. 
There is, in fact, very little animal life in this part of the 
country. There are a few small gray deer in the moun- 
tains, but they are very rarely seen. I also noticed that 
there were very few insects at this season, no mosquitoes 
or other troublesome pests usually found in warm countries. 



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LUXURIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 283 

The State of Oaxaca is famous for its scenery and is 
exceedingly mountainous. Its southern boundary reaches 
almost to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the extreme south 
of Mexico. It is traversed through its entire length by a 
majestic chain of mountains (Las Sierras Madre del Sur), 
rising at some points to eleven thousand feet above the level 
of the sea. The State is surprisingly rich in its forests 
and valuable woods, of which there are a wonderful vari- 
ety, including mahogany, ebony, rosewood, maple, walnut, 
acacia, cedar, pine, oak, holly, olive, poplar, apricot, 
lignum vitse, veneering woods of all kinds and a number 
of costly dye woods. Oaxaca abundantly produces Indian 
corn, wheat, beans, cotton, barley, coffee, cacao, sugar-cane, 
rice, vanilla, pepper, tobacco, hemp and india-rubber, 
oranges, lemons, bananas, mangoes ; in fact, every known 
fruit and vegetable will yield abundant and profitable 
harvests. 

The climatic range of Oaxaca is of a most charming 
character, varying from the cool, fresh, invigorating tem- 
perature found in the mountainous districts to that of trop- 
ical heat. In the uplands, from five to six thousand feet, 
the cHmate is the most genial and temperate on earth, 
from day to day and from season to season the weather 
changing only sufficiently to provide a gentle variety with- 
out violent transitions. A day's ride from the city of 
Oaxaca will take you to an elevation of ten thousand feet, 
where you can kick about among the pine cones and oak 
apples, experiencing the coolness of a northern October, 
or down to the hot lands to revel among the pineapples, 
strange orchids and rank vegetation characteristic of a 
tropical climate near the sea-coast. 

The scenic beauties of the State are unrivalled. Majestic 
mountains whose peaks seem to melt into the clear blue 
sky form the background of scenery full of charming peace- 



284 MEXICO 

fulness, of beautiful valleys enriched with nature's bounty 
of tropical verdure; whilst ravines, cascades and swift- 
flowing rivers and streams give a touch of the wild and 
romantic to every view. 

The days of Zavaleta were like midsummer, but the nights 
were cool and bracing. There was a beautifully clear sky, 
and the stars shone with that dazzling brightness pecuHar 
to the tropics. 

If Zavaleta had been in any country less remote it would, 
by this time, have been transformed into a popular winter 
resort. A fine large hotel would have been established 
there, equipped with all modern luxuries; several miles of 
the surrounding lands would have been laid out as a great 
park; the streams would have been preserved and stocked 
with trout. These attractions, combined with its superb 
climate and magnificent scenery, would make it an earthly 
paradise in the winter-time. 

The country about Zavaleta is very scantily settled, 
with only an occasional Indian village of adobe huts. 
Only a fraction of it is cultivated, although its agricultural 
possibilities are unlimited. What a country it would be if, 
instead of the dirty, lazy Indians, it was inhabited by, say, 
the sturdy, industrious peasants of northern Italy ! Its 
barren hills and valleys would then be covered with vine- 
yards and fruit trees of every description. Peopled by 
an industrious, progressive race there would be no end to 
its possibilities. 

It is pitiful to think of such a wonderful land remaining 
in the hands of the shiftless Indians. In a country where 
nearly every description of fruit, cereal and vegetable can 
be raised, they are content to live on tortillas and beans ; 
their little farms are rudely cultivated ; they reap one large 
crop of Indian corn and then let the ground lie idle for the 
rest of the year, whereas they might gather two or three 



LUXURIOUS LIFE AT A GOLD-MINE 285 

crops. Fruit trees might be easily planted or even raised 
from seed; but that is too much trouble. Nor have they 
any idea of beautifying their huts. I do not remember 
seeing one that had any flowers planted about it unless 
they were wild creepers planted by the hand of nature. 
The idle peon dawdles at home, smoking his cigarettes and 
living from hand to mouth. Give him enough tortillas and 
beans, a little sugar, coffee and tobacco, his wants are satis- 
fied, and he cares not a jot about the world and its progress. 
Even if his contentment and his preference for the simple 
Hfe are suggestive of a latter-day Arcady, he is undoubtedly 
an obstacle to progress and to the best interests of his lovely 
land. 

As I rode through this fair country I thought how topsy- 
turvy the world often seems to be. Thousands of wretched, 
half-starved people herding in the great cities of Europe, 
their minds and bodies dwarfed by their surroundings, 
knowing nothing of the beauties of nature ; and here a great 
district capable of supporting a hundred times as many 
is Uterally going to waste. 

I had a good opportunity of studying the indolent habits 
of the peon's life, for just across the valley the little group 
of huts was inhabited by typical Indian famihes. Most of 
the men worked in the mine when they were not celebrat- 
ing feast-days ; the women, when not engaged in making 
tortillas, spent most of their time in washing the household 
clothing in the stream. I often wondered why it is that with 
all this washing the peon generally appears to be so dirty. 
By some queer law of gravitation dirt seems to actually 
fly to him. Here, too, was another of those remarkable 
Mexican contrasts. On one side of the valley were the Ind- 
ians living their simple, primeval life ; on our side were the 
comfortable electric-lighted houses with all the conditions 
of civilization. 



286 MEXICO 

Looking across the valley one afternoon, I witnessed a 
touching little scene. It was a day or two before Christmas, 
and the children were gathered outside the Indian huts to 
celebrate the festive season. Suspended from the branches 
of a tree was a pinate, gorgeous with its colored tissue paper, 
tinsel and ribbons. The mothers stood in a group affec- 
tionately watching the children as they strove to knock 
it down, one after another being blindfolded, until one 
grave little maiden managed to strike and break it, when 
there was a general scramble for its sugary contents. 
They had probably been looking forward to this little fes- 
tivity for weeks, and it was all conducted in such a quiet, 
subdued way, as if generations of oppression and squalor 
had crushed all the joy from their hearts. With their 
poverty and pitiful surroundings there was to me something 
extremely pathetic in this little scene. I forgot their dirt, 
their indolence and all their other bad traits, for this one 
touch of a common nature had made us akin. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

CHRISTMAS AT LOS REYES 

To spend Christmas in the wilds of the Mexican Sierras 
would seem attractive to any one in search of novel expe- 
riences. And it was thus that the idea impressed me when 
I accepted an invitation to accompany my friends at Zava- 
leta on a holiday-making trip of twenty miles across the 
mountains. Our destination was the little village of San 
Miguel Peras in the beautiful Pefioles district, near which 
place is situated the famous Los Reyes gold-mine, owned 
by an American company. Its superintendent, a hos- 
pitable Canadian, had invited us to spend Christmas 
there. 

Early in the afternoon of the previous day we started 
on our expedition, my companions being Green, Gus and 
Don Carlos. ''What would your friends in New York 
think of this for Christmas weather?" asked Green, as we 
mounted our horses and rode off. I wondered; for, unlike 
the weather of the average northern Christmas, the sun was 
blazing down from an unclouded sky with an intensity 
more in keeping with a tropical midsummer. 

We took a rough trail winding up the mountain side, 
climbing higher and higher, our path at times bordering 
deep gorges of a thousand feet or more. As we gained the 
summit of the range, a magnificent view unrolled before us, 
with miles upon miles of wooded mountains and valleys, 
and the great plain of Oaxaca backed in the far distance by 
the towering peaks of the Sierras. The trail at last joined 

287 



288 MEXICO 

a rough, rocky road, with occasional level stretches where 
we could indulge in the luxury of a gallop. 

On our way we passed through two or three Indian 
pueblos or villages, always of the same type, a collection 
of adobe huts, most of them surrounded with a cactus 
hedge, and one more pretentious than the others serving 
as a sort of general store. From these pueblos and from 
some of the scattered huts a pack of yelping curs sallied 
forth, snapping at our horses' heels. One of my compan- 
ions was for shooting some of them with his revolver ; but 
the others dissuaded him, as the peons, they said, would 
follow us for miles, demanding compensation. Some 
Americans in Mexico arm themselves with small air-guns 
loaded with ammonia with which to keep off these dogs, 
which are certainly one of the curses of the country. 

Occasionally we passed rude wooden crosses set up in 
piles of stones, mute reminders of an age that has almost 
passed away. Each marks the spot where a murder has 
been committed, and it is the duty of a good Catholic to 
mutter a prayer for the soul of the victim as he passes, and 
perchance to add a stone to the pile. In some parts of 
Mexico there are so many of these crosses that a stranger 
would suppose that they marked the graves in a wayside 
cemetery. The Mexican bandit in former times not only 
robbed, but more often than not killed his victims; and 
even to this day men do not travel in the remoter districts 
without a revolver and plenty of ammunition. The mining 
men who went into the Sierras from Oaxaca, I noticed, 
always had their revolvers strapped to their belts. 

By a continuous ascent we eventually reached an altitude 
of nearly ten thousand feet and entered one of the most 
charming bits of country that I had seen in Mexico. It 
was, in fact, very hard for me to realize that I was actually 
in Mexico and not in the midst of some peaceful Enghsh 



CHBISTMAS AT LOS REYES 289 

park in the early summer-time. We trotted through green 
woodland paths shaded by fine old oaks and other trees 
common in temperate climes; through deep glades where 
the earth was carpeted with green, luscious grass, the air 
cooled by limpid streams which dashed over mossy rocks. 
All the features of an English June were here save that 
the woods were silent; there were no signs of animal life 
and scarcely the chirp of a bird to be heard. 

Farther on we came to a long stretch of well-laid road, 
probably made in the old Spanish days. On one side of 
this road was a deep, wooded glen ; the other was bordered 
by a high bank which had been faced with rocks, now cov- 
ered with thick moss and fern. We were now making a 
descent, and over the tree-tops below us we caught occa- 
sional glimpses of a broad valley and wild stretches of forest. 
Down the road we galloped, and after crossing the valley, 
a few more miles brought us to San Miguel Peras, the end 
of our journey. 

Entering the village, we passed the casa municipal or 
town hall, a neat little building of white stone, the parish 
church and then the usual collection of peon huts. Strung 
along the village street were telephone wires, which we had 
also noticed during our journey, connecting the district 
with Oaxaca and other places. The government at Mexico 
City is thus kept in direct touch with the remotest parts 
of the Sierras. 

At the fonda or village store, Don Ignacio, the book- 
keeper of the mine, was waiting to greet us. He spoke 
with such a strong Scotch accent that at first I thought 
he was a real Scot, and wondered how he had contrived to 
translate Duncan or Sandy into Ignacio. He informed 
me, however, that he was of Portuguese parentage and 
having been born in Scotland had acquired his accent there. 
The Don spoke Spanish fluently, and was of great service 



290 MEXICO 

in acting as mediator between the mining people and the 
natives. 

A few minutes' ride beyond the village brought us to the 
headquarters of the mine. Here we met the superintend- 
ent, Mr. Alexander Smith, and his Canadian assistant, 
who gave us a cordial welcome. We had rooms assigned 
to us over the company's store, a long stone building where 
all sorts of things were sold, provisions, clothing, tools, etc., 
many of the miners taking their pay in goods instead of 
money. A second story of wood had been added to this 
building, also a large wooden veranda its entire length. 
In this part of the building were rooms for the superin- 
tendent and his staff, including the sitting-room where we 
gathered and had our Scotch and soda. There were eight 
of us altogether, a Mexican friend of Smith's having ar- 
rived. 

The mining property formed quite a little village itself. 
In addition to the building already mentioned, there was 
a large, old-fashioned stone house, used as kitchen and 
dining-room, and adjoining this were various huts occupied 
by the menservants, no women being employed, and some 
of the mining hands. Beyond these were the stamp-mill 
and other structures connected with the mine works. 
The mine itself was about a mile away, the ore being brought 
down on the backs of burros. 

San Miguel Per as is about seven thousand feet up, so 
that the night air was much colder than at Zavaleta. At 
night some of us had five blankets, and even then found it 
hard to keep warm, the thin, rarefied air being so pene- 
trating. I nearly froze before the morning. 

An attempt was made the next day to celebrate Christ- 
mas in good, old-fashioned English style. A yule log drawn 
by two burros was dragged into the big stone-paved dining- 
room, where it soon blazed in the open fireplace. The 



CBBISTMA8 AT LOS BEYE8 291 

weather was fine and warm, although it had been so un- 
pleasantly cold at night. 

After breakfast a turkey that had been fattening for 
weeks was taken to a level piece of ground near the mine 
and put in a box with its head protruding. Each man then 
took a shot at it with a rifle, until one of our number man- 
aged to hit it. The bird was then carried off by Tom, the 
Chinese cook, to serve as the piece de resistance of our 
Christmas dinner. 

Later on, we went to an enclosed field where sports were 
to take place during the day. The fence-posts were gayly 
decorated with Mexican, English and American flags. 
In a tent near by was placed a Victor talking-machine, and 
there it ground out Spanish and American songs and music 
all day long for the edification of a large crowd of peons and 
peonesses. When the talking-machine was first started. 
Smith remarked to his assistant, who was managing it: 
''Give them La Paloma and plenty of other Spanish music ; 
that's the sort of thing they appreciate." But he soon 
realized that the musical taste of the modern Mexican 
Indian has suffered from the American invasion; for a 
peon came up, sombrero in hand, and addressing him, said : 
''Senor, la gente prefiere 'rag-time' Americano; no mas 
musica Espanola" (Sir, the people all want American "rag- 
time" (he pronounced it "rahg teem"); no more Spanish 
music). 

In the field some of the young men of the village were 
solemnly playing pelota (the national ball game of Mexico), 
empty gourds having been fashioned into catchers for the 
ball and tied to their arms. Quite a crowd of natives had 
gathered in the field, and the padre, a good-looking Mexican 
priest, came down to give ecclesiastical approval to the 
festivities. The Presidente, or Lord Mayor of San Miguel 
Peras, was absent, however, having had, it appeared, some 



292 MEXICO 

dispute with the mining people, and to show his displeasure 
had kept away. I told Don Ignacio that I was very much 
disappointed, as I wished very much to see what a Mexican 
lord mayor looked like. '' Ye ha vena missed ower much , I'm 
thinking/' repHed the Don. " Ye see yon disreputable-look- 
ing Indian squatting by the fence. Well, he was the pres- 
ent Presidente's predecessor, so ye can get a vera guid idea 
of what a village Presidente is hke." The old gentleman in 
question wore the usual white cotton suit, red blanket 
and straw sombrero, and I rather think that he was bare- 
footed. Don Ignacio further told me that the alcalde or 
magistrate of the village had been chosen because he was 
the only man in the place who could read and write ! He 
was therefore regarded as a gente de razon or reasoning 
man, literally '^one who has a mind." It is in this humble 
way that the peon refers to any man who has an infusion 
of white blood or is possessed of superior knowledge. 

The natives squatted about the field and swarmed around 
the talking-machine, the boys and girls seeming to be much 
more interested in this than in the games. Later on, 
some Indian women came down with baskets of fruit and 
dulces to sell, so that the place took on quite a public-holi- 
day appearance. During the morning we had football and 
cricket, the competing teams being composed of swarthy, 
barefooted Indians. 

Later in the day there were a number of sports, such as 
blindfold and obstacle races, a burro race and finally the 
great concluding spectacle — a chase for a greased pig. 
When the pig was turned loose, a host of men and boys 
gave chase, the squeaking animal scurrying amongst the 
spectators, knocking down some of them; then it turned 
and fled back to the field again, where three peons who 
headed the pursuit fell in a heap on top of it, catching it 
in their blankets. This, of course, was not according to 



CRBISTMAS AT LOS BEYES 293 

the rules of the sport as played in England. Each peon 
insisted that he alone had caught the pig, and each was 
determined to have it. Two of them drew ugly looking 
knives and swore by all the saints that they would defend 
their rights. Bloodshed seemed impending, when Smith 
plunged into the melee, and vowed that none of them should 
have the pig, as they had not played fair. To prevent 
hostilities he compromised matters by offering each man 
two dollars. The pig, the innocent cause of the whole 
disturbance, was then taken back to its pen. After some 
argument, the peons came to terms and peace was restored. 

We sat round the long table in the stone-paved dining- 
room that evening and ate our Christmas dinner, warmed 
by the welcome blaze of the yule log. There was roast 
turkey, Christmas pudding, mince pie and numerous other 
good things, and some excellent wine. Afterwards we 
adjourned to the veranda where a large company of peons 
and their wives and young men and maidens had assembled 
for a dance. 

The festivities were opened with a dance called the 
Danza de Sombrero. A sombrero being placed on the floor, 
a girl and boy danced round it, in and out, drawing near 
and gliding away without touching it. Then there was the 
bottle dance, a young Indian deftly balancing a wine-bottle 
on his head as he danced with his dark-skinned partner. 
The music was furnished by three natives playing queer old 
mandolins. Then followed dancing by the entire company 
to the music of the talking-machine, alternating with that 
of the mandolins. This dancing was interminable and 
monotonous, both men and women moving round with 
expressionless faces, their whole demeanor melancholy and 
funereal. But they seemed to enjoy it in their solemn 
way and kept up their gloomy revels until long after mid- 
night. 



294 MEXICO 

The air was rather chilly outside, so after watching the 
dancing for a time we adjourned to the sitting-room to play 
cards. Later on I went on the veranda to have another 
look at the peon festivity, and to avoid catching cold 
swathed myself in a red blanket and put on a sombrero. 
An Indian seated near me apparently thought that I was 
one of his own race and spoke to me in his native tongue : 
but one of his companions, glancing at me, interrupted him. 
''No es Indio," he remarked; ''es un sefior; un gente de 
razon." (He is no Indian; he's a gentleman; one who can 
reason.) I felt very much complimented. My swarthy 
friend spoke in Spanish, I presume, that I might see that 
he, too, had some pretensions to being a gente de razon. 

During my stay at the Los Reyes mine I examined some 
of the workings, which are very extensive. In some parts 
of them there are traces of excavations made by the abo- 
riginal miners in prehistoric times, and also those of Spanish 
gold-seekers. Spaniards mined in the Penoles district 
for over a hundred years, and were followed by the Mexi- 
cans and lastly by the Americans. The earlier mining 
operations, however, were conducted in a very superficial 
manner, and it is only within recent years that modern 
methods have been introduced. Large quantities of pay- 
ing ore are now taken from the Los Reyes mine ; some of 
it is wonderfully rich, and I was shown several specimens in 
which almost virgin gold was embedded in the glittering 
quartz. 

Our festivities at Los Reyes ended with Christmas night. 
At eight o'clock the next morning we mounted our horses, 
bade farewell to our hosts and rode back over the moun- 
tains to Zavaleta. After resting there for a day or two, 
I returned to Oaxaca. 

During my absence large numbers of American mining 
men and others had come into the town from the country 



CHBISTMAS AT LOS BEYES 295 

districts to spend Christmas. My hotel was quite well 
filled. Among the newcomers were various "men with 
schemes/' with some of whom I formed a speaking acquaint- 
ance. They had much to tell me of the enormous deposits 
of gold and silver which were tucked away in remote corners 
of the Sierras, the whereabouts of which had been revealed 
to them alone. This mineral wealth simply needed removal, 
but mining unfortunately requires some money, and my 
friends with the schemes were short of cash. With true 
generosity, however, they were ready and willing to share 
their prospective millions with any lucky mortal who would 
back them to the extent of a few thousand American dollars. 

Cynical, sneering people have sometimes been heard to 
suggest that the man with the scheme is not a philan- 
thropist, but a shrewd individual, keenly alive to the in- 
terests of number one, who has some worthless piece of 
property and is ready to unload it on some guileless victim. 
This may be true, but there are cases when the man with 
the scheme is a well-meaning person who is sometimes vic- 
timized by a still shrewder schemer. Of this I had actual 
demonstration during my stay in Oaxaca. At the Ameri- 
can Club I was one day buttonholed by a Greek who, having 
been born in Wales, called himself a Welshman. He told 
me that he had struck some wonderfully rich silver ore 
about twenty-five miles out in the Sierras and that the assay 
showed I know not how many thousands of dollars per ton. 
On the strength of a wonderful report drawn up by a firm 
of assayers who were interested in the property, he had paid 
down quite a sum to secure an option on it. 

One evening my friend, the silver king, insisted upon my 
going to his quarters to look at the ore and the diagram 
of the mine. A Welsh mining engineer with whom I had 
become acquainted at the club was with me, and he was 
also invited. We went and looked at the ore, which seemed 



296 MEXICO 

to contain some kind of mineral, and also examined the 
blue-prints of the mine workings. The engineer, who was 
a practical mining man, studied the report closely and made 
some notes. My Greek Welshman, who I could see was 
an unpractical, visionary sort of person, was wild with 
excitement, talking incessantly of the millions that he ex- 
pected to make. The next day I met my friend the en- 
gineer and he said: "I have been making an estimate from 
's own report, and I find that the poor fellow will ac- 
tually lose ten dollars on every ton of ore that he takes 
from the mine, the percentage of mineral being insufficient 
to even cover the cost of working it. His assay er's report 
is absolute rubbish.'' He added that many of the assayers 
in Mexico were grossly incompetent, and for this and occa- 
sionally for other reasons every mine that they reported 
on was, according to their estimates, certain to make its 
owner a multi-millionaire. 

There has been, for some years, quite a boom in mining 
around Oaxaca, and some Americans have made large 
fortunes. Each year a larger number of prospectors are 
at work seeking new deposits, and I heard many amazing 
stories of finds of rich ores. One mine-owner told me that 
an Indian had brought him some specimens which assayed 
nearly a thousand dollars per ton, and offered for a small 
sum to tell him where the deposit could be found. ^^Of 
course," he added, ^Hhis piece of ore may have been excep- 
tionally rich, but if the rest only pans out a tenth part as 
well, I shall soon be a millionaire." Stories like this are 
responsible for the increasing number of prospectors who 
prowl about Mexico, spending their days in searching for 
the gold or silver which is to make them wealthy. A few 
succeed; but the majority, for a number of reasons, are 
doomed to failure. 

Some of the stories of sudden wealth won by prospectors 



CHBISTMAS AT LOS REYES 297 

are marvellous. I heard of an American who spent several 
years and all his money in searching for silver near Oaxaca, 
at last securing a claim which seemed to promise paying 
ore. He invested his last few dollars in dynamite and blew 
up the rocks in sheer desperation. The blast revealed a 
wonderfully rich vein, and he eventually sold the property 
for two hundred thousand dollars. 

There are many other mines than those of silver and gold 
in the vicinity of Oaxaca, for some of them, notably in the 
Ocotlan and Taviche districts, are rich in copper and lead. 
Americans, as already retnarked, have been most keen in 
getting control of these properties, and during the past few 
years have invested fully ten million dollars in mines and 
smelting plants. 

When I was not occupied in listening to stories of mineral 
wealth at the club, I found a great deal of amusement at 
night in strolhng about the plaza and watching a line of 
booths where all kinds of gambling games were in progress. 
These booths are set up in the plazas of most Mexican 
towns during the Christmas season, gambling of any sort 
being dear to the Mexican heart. 

In Oaxaca the most popular game, patronized by the 
richer plungers, was played on a large table divided into 
squares containing colored pictures of animals, such as a 
horse, a donkey, tiger, lion, serpent, and over each was a 
certain number. Players bought chips or counters for ten 
cents each and staked them on whichever of the animals 
they selected. A man at the table turned a wheel contain- 
ing as many balls as there were animals, and each bearing 
a number corresponding to that marked on the animal. 
Whichever ball eventually dropped out of the wheel was the 
winning number. This table was usually surrounded by 
a large crowd of both sexes. When the wheel was turned 
and the winning number dropped out, the dealer would 



298 MEXICO 

shout, "Burro/' ''Tigre" or ''Elephante/' as the case might 
be. A certain number of the losing counters were sub- 
tracted by the proprietor as his percentage and the remain- 
der, divided among the winners, were exchangeable for 
money at their face value. There were also tables for faro, 
monte (the three-card game), roulette, etc., the betting being 
for any amount from a centavo to a dollar. There were 
even booths where little boys and girls sat gambling away 
their pennies at a simple sort of game with picture-cards, on 
which were rude pictures of a cow, a boy, a man or a horse. 

In these street festivities many Americans were showing 
keen interest, especially those who had come in from the 
mines for the fiesta week. Groups of them usually stood 
around the gambling booths. There is quite a large Amer- 
ican colony in Oaxaca, and one of the districts where most 
of the Americans have their homes is becoming gradually 
Americanized. The colony has built two churches, and I 
believe that an American school has also been established.* 
Most of the American women whose husbands are engaged 
in mining prefer to live in the town, where they can have 
some recreation, meet other Americans and escape the dis- 
comforts of the mining camps. There are quite a number 
of American children in Oaxaca, and these Yankee boys 
and girls astonish the Mexicans by their free and indepen- 
dent ways. 

In Oaxaca the home life of the Mexicans can be studied 
to even better advantage than in the capital, and this is 
especially true of the shopping arrangements. The grocers' 
stores, for instance, are extremely interesting; they have 
a strange, old-world appearance, and are conducted in a 
manner which gives a very good insight into the domestic 
customs of the people. 

Almost every large grocery store in Mexico is owned by 
Spaniards, just as many dry-goods establishments are owned 



CHRISTMAS AT LOS BEYES 299 

by Frenchmen, and hardware stores by Germans, and all 
of them are alike. Behind an unpolished zinc counter are 
arranged the shelves and pyramids of dust-covered bottles 
of Hquor. At one side is a small bar-room. The salesmen 
are always Spanish or Mexican youths in their shirt-sleeves, 
with grimy hands, and they slam each piece of silver on 
the counter to test its metal with an almost vindictive 
motion. A big business is done each day, although it 
takes a hundred sales to aggregate a dollar ; for, as already 
mentioned, everything in Mexico is bought by the day's 
supply or even for one meal. At a grocer's store you can 
buy a cent's worth of sugar, tea or coffee. The grocer will 
not permit a customer with one cent to escape, and he will 
break a package of cigarettes to sell a pennyworth with the 
same apparent alacrity as he pours out a centavo glass of 
Mexican fire-water. When not engaged in waiting on cus- 
tomers, the shop hands employ their time weighing out 
small one- and two-cent packages of various classes of staple 
articles, deftly doubling and fastening the old newspaper 
wrapper without a sign of a string. When the rush comes, 
just before the meal hours, these boys hop from one side 
of the store to the other, grabbing the ready-made pack- 
ages with the greatest swiftness, supplying the many wants 
of the cooks in short order. 

Oaxaca saw the old year out in a very noisy fashion. 
At half-past eleven, on the night of December 31, a mili- 
tary band paraded the streets, playing stirring music, and 
shortly before midnight stationed itself in the plaza and 
played the Mexican National Anthem. Then all the church 
bells in the city commenced banging and clanging, excited 
citizens leaned from their windows and fired off rifles and 
pistols or exploded fireworks till the din was deafening. 
With this uproar the new year was ushered in. 



CHAPTER XIX 



PEEHISTORIC MEXICO 



The more one travels in Mexico the more does one be- 
come impressed with the fact that it is a country of old 
races of ancient civilizations and a wonderful past. Scat- 
tered all over the land are the ruins of cities, palaces, 
temples and fortresses, the architecture and extent of which 
are amazing to even the present age. Of their builders 
little or nothing is known. They may have lived thou- 
sands of years ago and may even have been contemporary 
with the people of Nineveh. 

The traces of these ancient races are especially numerous 
in the Valley of Oaxaca, where the plains and hills abound 
in the remains of their wonderful works. Notable among 
these are the ruins on the summit of Monte Alban, about 
five miles from Oaxaca. Monte Alban and other mountains 
near Oaxaca rise abruptly from the plain like huge pyramids 
to a height of four thousand feet or more. On most of 
them there are traces of prehistoric dwellings or temples. 
Some scientific men have a theory that the plain in the 
early days of the world was under water, and that the moun- 
tains were then islands inhabited by various semi-civilized 
tribes. 

Early in January, in company with an American friend, 
I went out to Monte Alban, the foot of which we reached 
after a hot and dusty ride. Here we took a rough, winding 
trail which led to the summit, and so steep that our panting 
horses had to make frequent stops to get their breath. Half- 

300 



PBEHISTOBIC MEXICO 301 

way up the mountain side we noticed what seemed to 
be the remains of former fortress walls almost completely 
buried in the earth. 

On the summit of the mountain, many acres in extent, 
were a number of mounds of earth about twenty-five feet 
high, with steep sides. In all directions were great masses 
of stones which had formed temples or forts, and below 
some of these were narrow subterranean passages and im- 
mense sculptured blocks. One of these mounds had been 
excavated, revealing a massively constructed court nine 
hundred feet long and two hundred feet wide. It is of 
rectangular shape, is built of huge square stones and faces 
the west. During the excavations at this point some neck- 
laces of agate, fragments of worked obsidian (volcanic glass) 
and golden ornaments of fine workmanship were found. 

A peon and his boy, who joined us while we were examin- 
ing the ruins, volunteered to show us the sights. They took 
us to another mound which had, by the law which has 
recently come into force, been partly excavated by the 
government archaeologists, who alone are permitted to ex- 
plore any of the Mexican ruins. Their investigations had 
disclosed four large, rudely sculptured stone figures in bas 
reUef of more than life size, seated in a row hke the figures 
found in Egyptian temples. Some of them resemble 
the Aztec figures in the National Museum of Mexico, but 
one has pronounced Mongolian features and what looks 
like a Chinaman's pigtail. ''Who are these fellows?" my 
companion asked the peon. Pointing to them, one after 
another, he replied, " San Miguel, San Jose, San Pedro and 
King Montezuma," the last being the figure with the pig- 
tail. That is how the peon had solved the problem which 
perplexes scientific men. 

All theories as to the age of these ruins are mere guess- 
work. Some archaeologists declare them to be thousands 



302 MEXICO 

of years old — perhaps older than Nineveh. Nobody- 
knows. They are traditionally stated to have existed 
when the Aztecs came to Mexico ; but Aztec traditions are 
quite untrustworthy. 

Guided by our peon, we crawled through an opening in 
one of the mounds. The entrance was built in a perfect 
square, the builders of Alban not knowing anything of the 
building of arches with keystones. In the cavernous in- 
terior of the mound, lined with solid square stones, we dis- 
turbed a number of bats which came whizzing about our 
heads until we emerged through another square door at the 
other side. 

Nearly all the ruins on Monte Alban are covered with 
mounds of earth which has collected and covered them in 
the course of ages. From their position it is surmised that 
they formed part of an ancient stronghold or place of refuge 
for the ancient inhabitants in time of war. The fact that 
a number of stone idols have been found among the ruins 
seems also to prove that some of the structures were used 
as temples. 

Still more wonderful in size, extent and architecture 
are the famous ruins of Mitla, a great city of prehistoric 
times and now the site of a small Indian village. The jour- 
ney of twenty-five miles from Oaxaca to Mitla is not with- 
out its discomforts and, like many other Mexican sight-see- 
ing trips, requires a great deal of time, patience and physical 
endurance. The first stage of the journey is generally 
accomplished in a little street-car drawn by two mules, 
which runs to the village of Tula, six miles distant ; and it 
was in this queer little conveyance that I started off on 
my expedition to Mitla early one morning. 

Leaving the cobble-paved streets of Oaxaca, the car 
went along a country road between fields of sugar-cane and 
the ubiquitous maguey. Then it crossed a treeless, sun- 



PBEHISTOBIC MEXICO 303 

baked plain which extends to the mountains, relieved only 
by an occasional green, irrigated field. In the midst of this 
plain is situated the little village of Tula, a place of adobe 
huts, cactus hedges and Indians. Rising from among the 
rather squalid dwellings are the towers of a large, ancient 
church, brightly tinted and picturesque, embowered in a 
mass of tropical verdure. 

In the churchyard, which is unusually well kept, stands 
the famous '^big tree of Tula,'' one of the tree-monarchs 
of the world. It is an ahuetl or species of cypress, and its 
age is unknown, but when Cortes came with his army and 
rested under it, the natives of the district had traditions 
that it had stood there when their forefathers came to the 
Valley of Oaxaca. It may have given shade to the builders 
of Mitla. Truly impressive in size and appearance is the 
'' big tree." Six feet from the ground it is over one hundred 
and fifty-four feet round the trunk, and twenty-eight people 
with outstretched arms touching each other's finger-tips 
can barely complete the circuit. The trunk is a group of 
compact sections something like that of the cottonwood 
trees, and towers up to a great height. Standing 
under the sombre, wide-spreading foliage, one gains an 
impression of awe and solemnity, a feeling such as might 
be experienced in the dim cloisters of some ancient ca- 
thedral. On one side of this giant of the forest is a tablet 
with an inscription by Humboldt, the German traveller 
and scientist, who visited Tula and Mitla in 1806. It has 
been there so long that the bark has grown over it, oblit- 
erating part of the inscription. 

A light American buggy, drawn by two mules, and driven 
by a taciturn peon, took me from Tula to Mitla, a distance 
of some twenty miles. Our road led over the plain, dotted 
here and there with Indian pueblos and haciendas; then 
on to the quaint old town of Tlacolula, with its cactus- 



304 MEXICO 

hedged lanes, and pretty little plaza, its beautiful domed 
church, picturesque old inn and casa municipal. A short 
stop was made here, and it gave me an opportunity to see 
the interior of the parish church, which is famous for its 
altar, the front of which is covered with plates of solid silver, 
ornamented with elaborate repousse work ; the altar cande- 
labra, which are over five feet high, and the exquisite lamps 
are also of silver. 

On leaving Tlacolula we entered a broad valley where 
hundreds of huge boulders, weighing thousands of tons, were 
scattered about; all around was an arid, rocky country. 
A few miles of this, across the wide, rocky bed of a stream, 
then dried to a brooklet, but a large river in the rainy 
season, led to our journey's end at the hospitable hacienda 
of Don Felix Quero. 

The owner of a typical Mexican hacienda, Don Felix 
provides accommodation for travellers who visit Mitla ; and 
connected with his house is the general store of the district, 
of which he is sole proprietor. Here the Indians come to 
trade for provisions and the luxuries of life and spend their 
meagre centavos. Don Felix and his swarthy son are kept 
busy every evening selling such things as a centavo's worth 
of coffee or two centavos' worth of cigarettes and mescal, 
or half a cent's worth of lard, sugar, salt or matches. 
Some of the wealthier Indians — the peon millionaires — 
will actually buy five or ten cents' worth of aguardiente 
(fire-water) or such an almost unheard-of luxury as a five- 
cent cigar. 

The next morning, in sunshine which was positively 
grilling, I went out to see the ruins, which are but a short 
distance from the hacienda. Passing through the village, 
with its thatched huts almost hidden behind hedges of tall 
cactus, a few minutes' walk along the dusty road brought 
me to the wonderful structures of prehistoric Mexico. 



i 



PBEHISTOBIC MEXICO 305 

Extending for some distance were mounds of earth, masses 
of fallen masonry, huge blocks and piles of debris ; in the 
midst of all this was a series of long, low buildings of mas- 
sive stone bearing a striking resemblance to the temples 
of ancient Egypt. Some were almost demohshed; others 
were in a fairly good state of preservation. 

The Mitla ruins consist of four distinct groups facing 
the four points of the compass, and which were originally 
of the same general style, the north group being the best 
preserved. In both the north and south groups are four- 
walled courts built round a central patio and also having 
their lines agreeing with the compass points. Along the 
entire front of each of these buildings is a broad, stone-paved 
terrace broken by wide flights of steps which lead to square 
Egyptian doorways. But in marked contrast to the struc- 
tures of early Egypt the outer walls of the edifices at Mitla 
are composed of oblong panels decorated with typical 
Grecques and arabesques, about fifteen geometrical designs 
being employed. When viewed at a distance, these seem 
to be carved in the stonework; but a closer inspection 
reveals that the effect has been produced by thousands of 
small pieces of stone let into the face of the building and 
fitted together so accurately that no cement was required. 
In some cases the lower parts of the walls are faced with 
rows of stones so finely polished that they have the ap- 
pearance of having been made in a mould. 

Wonderfully impressive is the simple dignity of these 
prehistoric structures, the architecture and construction 
of which have won the admiration of every archaeologist 
who has visited Mitla. ^^The walls," says an American 
technical writer, ^^ present the appearance of preserving the 
most absolutely pure lines, and one is filled with astonish- 
ment when it is considered what a number of centuries 
have passed since these pretentious palaces or temples were 



306 MEXICO 

built. The excellent workmanship shown in these struc- 
tures is such that, with the remarkable precision displayed 
in the cutting of the stones and their elaborate ornamenta- 
tion, they must in their prime have presented a wonderful 
aspect." 

One of the most impressive features of the ruins is the 
Hall of Monoliths, a great corridor extending through the 
entire length of the north court, a vast structure which 
covers eight thousand square feet. Standing in a row in 
the centre of this hall are six massive monolithic columns, 
each over eleven feet high and about eight feet round, each 
of them quite plain and without any pedestal or capital. 
From here a dark passage leads into a second hall sur- 
rounded by four smaller rooms, one of which, known as 
the Audience Chamber, is beautifully decorated in stone 
mosaic and is in almost perfect condition. In each of these 
rooms are square niches faced with heavy stone, somewhat 
of the piscina type, and believed to have been shrines in 
which were placed small figures of gods. In one of the 
rooms, called the Hall of Mosaics, which has inlaid orna- 
mentation of exquisite design, the walls in some places show 
signs of having been covered with a hard plaster and richly 
colored, some traces of dark red paint still remaining. 

The ancient builders not only used stone but bricks 
composed of adobe and pulverized rock, possessing wonder- 
ful durability. All the structures are decorated in the 
same intricate manner ; all are without windows ; and each 
is entered by three large square doorways side by side, 
the lintels being formed of huge monoliths eighteen feet 
long, five feet wide and four feet high. In architecture and 
general appearance the ruins of Mitla differ entirely from 
those in other parts of Mexico, and are also distinct in being 
unadorned by any human or animal figures. As in other 
Mexican ruins, however, there are no arches ; for the archi- 



PREHISTORIC MEXICO 307 

tects of Mitla had not reached the stage of arch designing, 
and were therefore obhged to avoid curves. 

The work of the Mitla builders seems amazing when it is 
borne in mind that it was done without machinery and with 
the crudest implements ; for the only tools that have been 
found on the spot are chisels and axes of untempered 
copper. Under these circumstances the shaping and hoist- 
ing of the huge blocks into position and the fitting of the 
stone mosaics were really marvellous achievements. So 
wonderfully, too, were these huge stones put together that 
all the earthquakes that have taken place in Mexico in even 
historic times have not sufficed to move them from their 
position. 

Not far from the Hall of Monoliths is a large, dilapi- 
dated structure, adjoining which is a comparatively modern 
church, obviously built from the ancient materials. This 
ruin was once the largest of all, and has been estimated as 
covering a space of nearly three hundred feet in length 
and six hundred in width. The enclosing walls were six 
feet thick. One portion of this temple, if such it were, 
was formerly used as a stable, its beautiful frescoed walls 
being whitewashed. A few faint vestiges of the decora- 
tions still remain, mostly undecipherable hieroglyphics in 
conventional life-forms, apparently painted with the same 
red pigment as is noticeable in the Audience Chamber. 
These are the only inscriptions at Mitla. 

In 1902 an entrance which had been blocked up was 
discovered in the south court, which, being opened, was 
found to lead into a subterranean cruciform chamber some 
thirty or forty feet below the floor of the main building. 
This crypt has the same style of decoration as in the upper 
chambers, except that in this instance the Grecque pattern, 
instead of being formed by mosaic, is carved in the solid 
stone. This cross-shaped chamber and several others which 



308 MEXICO 

exist at Mitla were used as tombs, and in each instance their 
entrances face the west, the idea of the ancient people 
having probably been that the souls of the dead journeyed 
to the regions of the setting sun. In some of the tombs 
entire skeletons or charred bones were found, also stone or 
clay idols, funereal urns which had contained incense and 
various other relics; but the chamber last discovered had 
evidently been rifled of its contents at some early period. 

Until recent years the ruins at Mitla were treated in 
much the same way as were many old English castles a few 
generations ago. Beautiful structures were demolished by 
vandal hands to provide building material for the modern 
village of Mitla, and some of the stonework was even carted 
into the City of Oaxaca. The Mexican government at 
last took charge of the ruins and put a stop to the work of 
destruction. Government archaeologists are now engaged 
in restoring some of the ancient buildings and superintend- 
ing the excavations which are taking place in their vicinity. 

The origin of the great structures at Mitla is shrouded 
in mystery. Nobody knows or is ever likely to know who 
the builders were or at what period these mighty edifices 
were raised. Their massive walls are to-day in much the 
same condition as when first visited by the Spaniards in the 
sixteenth century ; the Aztecs at that time could tell prac- 
tically nothing concerning the ancient builders. The re- 
semblance of the ruins to those of Egypt has, however, 
led many savants to believe that the Western world was 
visited centuries before its discovery by Columbus. Pres- 
cott has declared the structures to be ^Hhe work of a people 
who passed away under the assaults of barbarism at a 
period prior to all traditions, leaving no name or trace of 
their existence save these monuments which have become 
the riddle of later generations." According to some au- 
thorities, the builders were the earliest races of Mexico, the 



PREHISTORIC MEXICO 309 

Nahuas or Toltecs, and the age of the ruins has been vari- 
ously estimated at from two to five thousand years. The 
name Mitla is said to be a Mitlan-Nahuan word meaning 
^Hhe place of the dead." 

Several recent investigators are of the opinion, however, 
that the structures were raised at a much later date by the 
Zapotecan race, from whom the present natives of the coun- 
try, the Zapotec Indians, are descended. The Zapotecs, 
who were there when the Spaniards came, have always 
called Mitla in their dialect Zyaboa, meaning ''the centre 
of rest." They certainly have much the same type of 
features as those found in the stone figures and pottery 
which are unearthed among the ruins, but there the resem- 
blance ends ; for the modern Zapotecs of Oaxaca are typical 
Indian peons, while the ancient builders of Mitla had evi- 
dently made great advances in the arts of civilization. 

Fully as mysterious as the identity of the builders is the 
purport of the structures themselves. Whether they were 
temples, palaces or fortresses is never likely to be known 
with any degree of certainty. The general opinion, how- 
ever, is that they were temples, and this gains support 
from the fact that tombs have been discovered beneath 
several of the buildings. The ruins are also supposed to 
mark the site of a great city of prehistoric times, the entire 
valley being strewn with the remains of walls and columns. 
Idols of clay and jars of terra-cotta are found everywhere, 
and earthenware drain-pipes have also been dug up. 
There is every evidence, too, that the now arid valley once 
supported an immense population. 

I spent the entire day in the midst of these mighty ruins, 
and would gladly have journeyed twice the distance from 
Mexico City to see them; for the famous Palace of the 
Alhambra, with all its glories, is scarcely more imposing. 
As I stood in the great Hall of Monoliths on the evening of 



310 MEXICO 

my visit, its mysterious walls touched by the rays of the 
setting sun, I re-created, in fancy, the great structures. I 
could imagine the stately march of princes and warriors 
through the long corridors or the wild chants of priests 
engaged in their sacred rites. What a vista of the days 
when the world was young, mystic primeval times when — 

''Wal, IVe seen Mitla, and I'll admit it's quite a place; 
but if some of our young men from the Tec' couldn't 
have taught them Toltecs a few things, then I've lost my 
reckoning." 

I turned and found myself confronted by an elderly 
American woman, thin, wiry and determined, who stood, 
umbrella in hand, regarding the line of ancient monoliths 
with a defiant air, as if challenging all the past races of 
Mitla to dispute her word. 

" Yes, sir, I rather guess that some of our young men from 
the Tec' could have given 'em a few wrinkles." 

'^ What is the Tec' ?" I ventured to ask. 

The old lady gave me a withering look which said as 
plain as words, '^ Well, you're about as ignorant as a Toltec." 

"Of course I mean the Technological Institoot of Chi- 
cago," she rephed. "Why, some of our young men from 
that institootion are simply astonishing the world, and 
if they couldn't turn out a better column than that, well, 
then they ain't got no business a-getting their diplomas 
as architects." Here she gave the offending column a re- 
sounding whack with her umbrella, as if to show her dis- 
approval of its primitive lines. 

"They knew how to build, them Toltecs did," she con- 
tinued, a little more leniently, "but, law me, the world has 
been a-moving since their time. They couldn't have built 
a skyscraper to save their necks. Why, our young men 
learn all about building them big twenty-story buildings, 
and I reckon them Toltecs would just open their eyes if 



I 



PBEHISTOBIC MEXICO 311 

they could see some of 'em." With this parting shot at 
the past, the tourist lady disappeared through the ancient 
doorway. Alas, poor builders of Mitla, how little did you 
imagine that your efforts would one day be eclipsed by the 
young men from the Chicago Tec'. 

On returning to the hacienda, I found that the old lady 
had just arrived with her son, a gloomy, morose youth who 
wore spectacles, and was probably a graduate of the famous 
institution. I have frequently met tourists of this type 
in my wanderings. None of them seem to enjoy travelling 
or the sights that they see, and why they ever travel I have 
never been able to discover. 

After viewing the wonders of ancient Mitla, it seems im- 
possible to believe that the Zapotec Indians now inhabiting 
the valley are in any way related to the builders of old whose 
works astonish the present age. Living in small huts of 
adobe, the men follow the usual peon occupations of farm 
laboring, and the herding of cattle, sheep and goats ; the 
women are kept busy with their everlasting tortilla-making 
and clothes-washing. The Zapotecs are of short, stocky, 
muscular build, but are not bad looking, and do not have 
the flat noses which distinguish so many of the Indians 
further north. In some districts they speak very little 
Spanish, the use of the Zapotec dialect being very general. 

A number of pagan superstitions and practices still sur- 
vive among them, a belief in witchcraft being very general ; 
they also have some peculiar medical customs. Once in 
the market-place at Oaxaca two aged and wrinkled Indian 
dames were pointed out to me as great curanderas or wise 
women. Most of the Indian communities have no other 
doctors. 

These curanderas usually claim to have a great knowledge 
of medical science and make use of some very queer remedies. 
According to their superstitions^ air can enter the human 



312 MEXICO 

system through blows or unusually vigorous sneezing, and 
will then cause nervous tremblings, sore eyes and swellings. 
To effect a cure, lotions, plasters and bandages are em- 
ployed. When the alimentary canal is obstructed, it is 
because undigested food has adhered to the stomach or has 
formed into little balls which rattle about in the intestines. 
Heroic treatment is needed for this condition, and a drop 
of quicksilver is usually prescribed, which, swallowed at 
a gulp, will generally effect a cure or kill the patient. 
Tiricia, the word used for homesickness, melancholia or 
insomnia, is caused by a subtle vapor produced by the 
action of the moon and dew, and is absorbed through the 
pores. A sensible prescription — change of scene, good com- 
pany and tonics — is usually given for this. Mai de ojo 
or evil eye causes the sufferer to fade away or die of in- 
anition, and is a disease common among children. To draw 
away the attention of the '^evil eye," bright, attractive 
objects are hung near the patient. For a child who is slow 
in learning to talk, a diet of boiled swallows is often pre- 
scribed. Certain colors are supposed to work wonderful 
cures, and in cases of paralysis blue and red beads ground 
fine are sometimes administered. The curandera is also 
called upon to prepare love potions and to supply poisons, 
which will cause delirium, insanity and even death. 

The Zapotecs have a number of strange dances, includ- 
ing the Devil Dance, which usually takes place on the feast- 
days of the saints to whom their villages are dedicated. 
On these occasions some of the dancers have their bodies 
painted to represent skeletons, and also wear strange 
feathered head-dresses. An American acquaintance who 
had come from a mining camp some thirty miles from 
Oaxaca told me that he attended one of these dances, which 
took place in an Indian pueblo. The Zapotec ball-room 
was an open space near the village, and here the dance went 



A VALLEY IN THE SIERRAS. 

One of the charming scenes in Southern Mexico. 




WITHIN THE RUINS OF MITLA. 

The wonderful Hall of Mosaics. (See page 306.) 



PEEHISTOBIC MEXICO 313 

on by the light of a blazing fire, the dancers, men and women, 
being arrayed in all kinds of fantastic garb. "But what 
astonished me," said the American, "were three Indians 
dressed in old-fashioned French zouave uniforms. One 
had evidently belonged to an officer, and was covered with 
gold lace. To my surprise, I learned that the fathers of 
these Indians had stripped the uniforms from the bodies of 
French soldiers after one of the battles near Oaxaca in 1865. 
The uniforms had been carefully preserved, and the cloth 
must have been wonderfully good to have been in such 
sound condition after so many years. 

" The Indian who wore the officer's uniform said to me : 
^When my father took it, there were big gold pieces like 
American gold coins on it. My father sold these at the 
pawnshop. There was also a gold cross, and that he gave 
to our padre.' " A strange ending for the uniform and 
decorations of a gallant officer of Napoleon the Third ! 



CHAPTER XX 

LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 

"Influenza epidemic in Mexico." Thus read the head- 
ing of a special article which appeared in one of the Ameri- 
can-Mexican newspapers during my stay in Oaxaca. The 
news was not at all surprising ; for it does not require a long 
residence in Mexico to realize that the unwashed, filthy 
living peon is a ready catcher and transmitter of any in- 
fectious disease. From Mexico City the malady soon 
reached Puebla, and in a short time it had invaded Oaxaca, 
where, despite the mild chmate, it had numerous victims. 
I contracted a bad case of it myself, and did not improve 
matters by returning to Puebla, the inhaling of dust in 
large quantities on the long railway journey not being 
exactly a specific for the complaint. 

''Try Cuautla," said the doctor whom I consulted at 
Puebla; ''there's nothing like it in a case of influenza with 
bronchial compHcations." My first thought was that 
Cuautla was some strange Mexican drug, and was wondering 
whether it would be a nauseous dose, when the doctor pro- 
ceeded to enlighten me. " Cuautla," said he, " is the name 
of a popular health resort between Puebla and Mexico City, 
the chmate of which does wonders for sufferers from lung 
and bronchial troubles." 

Upon making inquiries at the railway office about trains 
to Cuautla, the clerk handed me an illustrated pamphlet 
with a fine colored picture on the cover representing a 
Mexican tropical scene. It bore the title, "Cuautla, 

314 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 315 

Mexico's Carlsbad." What ! I thought, another Carlsbad? 
In glowing language the booklet described Cuautla as 
an earthly paradise with a magnificent climate, beautiful 
scenery, splendidly equipped hotels and a warm sulphur 
spring whose waters were a certain specific for almost every 
human ailment. What more could one desire ? But with 
a keen memory of another Mexican Carlsbad and its prim- 
itive surroundings I was determined not to be caught 
a second time nor to allow my hopes to be raised too 
high.' 

Cuautla is about a hundred miles or so from Puebla, and 
the speedy trains of the Interoceanic Railway take about 
ten hours to make the journey. The train which I took 
left about seven o'clock in the morning ; it was not timed 
to reach Cuautla until five in the evening ; and as there was 
not any restaurant at any intermediate station, a somewhat 
terrifying prospect of starvation faced travellers. How 
were they to get their luncheon ? A little pamphlet given 
away by an American tourist agency and evidently written 
by an accomplished press-agent gave me the desired in- 
formation : — 

"At a certain station on the road," said my traveller's 
guide, " your train will stop for some twenty minutes. Here 
you will be greeted by graceful Indian women, — beauties, 
many of them, — with their olive skins and dark, flashing 
eyes, bearing themselves with queenly grace in their dainty 
rebosas and flowing garments, white as the driven snow. 
They will offer' you such dainties as tamales, chili-con-carne 
and tortillas, piping hot from their little stoves, and pre- 
pared with all the scrupulous cleanliness of a Parisian chef. 
They will bring you dainty refrescos of freshly gathered 
pineapple or orange to quench your thirst, and pastry such 
as your mother may have made when her cooking was at 
its prime." 



316 MEXICO 

Now, what more could any reasonable traveller demand ? 
What need was there for a restaurant when there were all 
these good things to be enjoyed? I showed my guide to 
an American friend before I started. He chuckled, gave 
a knowing wink and remarked, "Great is the faith of man, 
for after all your experiences you can still believe in a Mexi- 
can guide-book." ''But," I said, ''here it is in black and 
white, the dainty cooking, the clean Indians — " "That 
settles it, " he interrupted. "When you come across a clean 
Indian in this part of the country, telegraph me at my 
expense." He added, "If I were in your place, I would 
be on the safe side and take some provisions along." I 
took his advice, and was afterwards profoundly thankful 
that I did so. 

Between Puebla and Cuautla the railway descends to 
the hot lands, the descent being marked by a decided in- 
crease in temperature. On this account the weather tow- 
ards midday became uncomfortably warm. About one 
o'clock, in dazzling sunlight, we stopped at the station 
where, according to the guide-book, the Indian beauties 
were to greet us. There certainly were a lot of women 
waiting, and they came rushing forward to meet the train ; 
but what I saw completely took away my appetite. There 
were the usual Indian women food-sellers in their faded 
blue rebosas and dusty skirts, most of them old, withered 
and uncleanly, having been born, I fear, with a rooted 
aversion to soap and water. Some of these beldames were 
squatting outside the station, cooking various queer foods 
on crude charcoal stoves. I watched the process of tamale- 
making, not exactly an appetizing sight. An old lady 
thrust her rather dirty hand into a jar containing chopped 
meat and other ingredients, took out a handful and slapped 
it on a piece of tortilla dough which she deftly wrapped 
round it until it formed a sort of roll. This she plunged 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 317 

into some boiling fat, and in a few minutes it was cooked. 
'^Oh, what delicious tamales they're a-making. Mercy! 
I'm going to have some." The speaker was a Western 
young lady who was travelling with her father, mother and 
two brothers. Some Westerners apparently have strong 
nerves as well as appetites, at least these did; for they 
called to the Indian woman, who brought them her greasy 
delicacies, of which the whole family partook with great 
relish. A solemn young man who accompanied the party 
insisted on having the Mexican equivalent of a jam tart, 
and managed to make one of the women understand him 
by means of dumb signs. The old lady rammed her dirty 
and rather greasy hand into a jar of jam, took out a handful, 
slapped it on a piece of pastry, and presto ! there was the 
jam tart. 

The Mexican passengers were, of course, even less fas- 
tidious. They bought the Indian dainties recklessly, load- 
ing themselves with them externally and internally. I was 
content to appease my hunger with some biscuits and 
cheese and to quench my thirst with some Tehuacan water. 
I expect, in common with my fellow-men, to eat a peck of 
dirt in my lifetime, but I positively decline to take it all 
at one dose. So much for the guide-book. I was now 
ready for Cuautla. 

On my arrival there, I crossed a pretty little plaza op- 
posite the station and reached the Hotel Morelos, an estab- 
lishment under American management where I had ar- 
ranged to stay. It was the usual old mansion that had 
been turned into a hotel and very little altered. There 
was a large interior patio, with fountain, trees and flowers ; 
a large garden adjoined this filled with orange trees, banana 
plants and palms, with great masses of bougainvillea grow- 
ing everywhere. All the rooms opened into the patio, 
and on one side of it there was a long, rustic dining-room. 



318 MEXICO 

The place looked very old-fashioned and crude, but was 
interesting and picturesque, and in the mild climate of 
Cuautla, where outdoor life is so pleasant, many luxuries 
indispensable elsewhere could be dispensed with. The 
rooms were furnished in the usual Mexican style, with 
tiled floors and one or two rugs, but were clean and com- 
fortable. 

The attractions of the hotel were hardly up to those of 
a Carlsbad establishment, for it had neither a writing nor 
a smoking room ; but the terms were rather more attractive 
than the usual Carlsbad tariff, being about two dollars a day 
inclusive. It is true there was a good deal of Mexican 
about the cooking, but the meals were not at all bad and 
the service very fair. There were many visitors at the 
hotel, chiefly Americans, most of whom had fled from the 
capital to escape influenza or to recover from it. But 
for the tropical surroundings, one could easily have imagined 
one's self at an American resort. 

Situated at an altitude of about five thousand feet, 
Cuautla has a splendid winter climate, fully rivalling that 
of Cuernavaca, the mean temperature averaging seventy 
degrees the year round. It is a quaint, old-fashioned place, 
with narrow, cobble-paved streets, and houses of the usual 
low, flat-roofed type. As I strolled about the town the 
next morning, I noticed some unusually amusing signs of 
Americanization. An enterprising barber, for example, 
displayed a big signboard with the English inscription, 
^'Hygienic, non-cutting barber shop," as a tempting in- 
ducement to tourists, and one or two other establishments 
displayed in their windows the interesting announcement, 
''American spoke here." 

Before the Conquest, Cuautla was an Indian settlement 
of some importance; and in 1600 the present town was 
founded by the Spaniards. In 1812, during the War of 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 319 

Independence, it was the scene of some fierce fighting. 
It was in that year that General Morelos, the Mexican 
patriot, with a small force, was shut up in the town and 
besieged by a large Spanish army under General Calleja. 
After a siege of three months, Morelos was enabled to evacu- 
ate the place, but not until he was starved out. During 
the siege food became so scarce that cats were sold for six 
dollars, and rats and lizards for one and two dollars. One 
street in the town is called ^'Armaguras de Calleja," which 
means ^'Bitterness of Calleja," the forces of the Spanish 
general having suffered terribly in this particular thorough- 
fare. Another street, called " Las Victimes," is so called be- 
cause the Spaniards, after entering the town, are said to 
have cut the throats of all the women and children in its 
houses. 

Cuautla is also famous for having the oldest railway 
station in the world, the crumbling, ancient structure which 
is now used for this purpose having been the Church of 
San Diego built in 1657. Near it was a convent now also 
used for business purposes. When the law appropriating 
church property was enforced in 1856, the Franciscan 
fathers who then occupied the church and adjacent build- 
ings vacated the place, and in 1881 the railway company 
purchased it for its present use. 

The day after my arrival I went into the old church, 
the body of which is now used as a warehouse, while one 
side of it bordering the railway line provides accommodation 
for the waiting-room and various offices. A quantity of 
wine-barrels were piled up at the spot where the high altar 
had formerly stood, and all kinds of merchandise were stored 
in other parts of the building. Over the door was an in- 
scription, the first words of which seem appropriate enough 
to the present condition of the once sacred edifice: ^'Terri- 
bilis est iste hie domus dei et porta coeH " (How dreadful 



320 MEXICO 

is this place. This is none other but the house of God and 
this is the gate of heaven). 

The warm sulphur spring — the great attraction of 
Cuautla, and its only claim to be reckoned a spa — is some 
three miles out of the town, and visitors go out there on 
horseback, or in a wagonette which makes the trip several 
times a day. In the daytime the roads are too dusty, and 
it is too hot, for walking. 

In a blaze of sunshine which was worthy of the sub- 
tropics, I started for the springs the morning after my 
arrival, riding in one of the wagonettes, which was well 
filled with passengers. Rumbling through the cobble- 
paved streets and almost dislocating our bones, the vehicle 
at last reached the white, dusty highroad which led out 
into the country. For most of the way it is bordered with 
large banana plantations, and the tall plants were loaded 
with green fruit. These plantations are artificially irrigated, 
and even in what was now the dry season streams were 
running through them. There are several rivers round 
Cuautla, and in the hottest weather the country is well 
watered. It is, in fact, one of Cuautla's great charms that 
everywhere there is running water, through the streets 
and roads, in the gardens and plazas and through the fields. 
Irrigation has made the land to blossom like the rose, and 
after seeing so much of the dry, arid districts, the green trees 
and fields, the miles of fruit trees, the graceful palms and 
wealth of flowers were a welcome sight. 

Later on the road passed over some barren, rocky hills, 
from the summit of which there were some magnificent 
views. All around, in the distance, were rolling, reddish 
mountains, and far beyond these could be seen the snow- 
covered peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. The air 
was wonderfully clear and the sky the never changing, 
cloudless blue. By the roadside were occasional Indian 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 321 

hutS; not of the usual square, flat-roofed type, but circu- 
lar, and looking something like round English haystacks. 
They are built partly of adobe and partly of bamboo, inter- 
woven with reeds and rushes, the roofs being thatched with 
grass. Most of them were embowered in a jungle of tropi- 
cal vegetation and oftentimes in a dense thicket of green 
bamboo. The peons here seemed to look a shade cleaner 
than elsewhere, probably because there was plenty of water 
in the neighborhood; their clothing of homespun cotton, 
too, looked almost white. 

My fellow-travellers in the wagon^te were two French 
families, men, women, boys and girls, and they talked in- 
cessantly of the wonderful sulphur bath they were going 
to enjoy; but when we reached the spring I could see no 
signs of a bath-house. Flowing through a narrow ravine 
was a small stream which at one point formed a waterfall, 
pouring over a high bluff into a large rocky basin. This 
basin was divided into two parts by a low brick wall built 
through the centre. 

On our arrival, the ladies and girls wandered off in one 
direction, and I followed the men and boys in another. 
They went under some trees near by, took off their clothes 
and donned bathing-suits. The ladies and girls, who had 
retired to other trees at a respectful distance, also appeared 
in their bathing costumes. They went into the water on 
one side of the brick wall, while the men and boys took 
possession of that on the other side. That is how this 
Mexican Carlsbad is conducted. I did not take a bath, but 
I put my hand in the water, finding it tepid, and as the day 
was quite hot, I have no doubt that the bathing was very 
pleasant. The water is strongly impregnated with sulphur, 
and is said to be extremely beneficial in cases of rheumatism 
and various other diseases. 

The drive or ride out to the springs is about the only 



322 MEXICO 

amusement at Cuautla, so people contrive to pass away the 
time by getting up late and going to bed early. It is, how- 
ever, a pretty spot, a midwinter paradise; and if it only 
had a good, up-to-date hotel, with organized recreation, 
it could be made into a very fine resort. Even as things 
are, the place is always crowded during the winter season. 

There is another spring of a different kind less than a mile 
from Cuautla. It is reached by a beautiful lane, bordered 
by a low, moss-grown wall of rough stones and shaded by 
an occasional group of banana plants or palms. From this 
tropical by-path there was a view over miles of bright green 
sugar-cane to the horizon of reddish mountains, and tower- 
ing above them all were the two great snow-covered peaks, 
standing out sharply against the deep blue sky. The scene 
was always magnificent, and in the evenings, when the 
sun was setting, the color effects were exquisite beyond 
description. At the end of the lane was a wide, clear brook 
dashing over the rocks and bordering some cool woods, 
full of fine old trees, green as the trees of New England in 
early June; beneath them was a carpeting of long, lush 
grass and a myriad of bright flowers. Crossing the brook 
by some stepping-stones, one could enter the wood and reach 
a deep, sandy basin, where several springs forever bubbled 
up beneath the water which flowed off in wide streams, 
branching in every direction. The only visitors to this 
charming spot seemed to be a few Indians who came down 
to bathe. 

In the vicinity of Cuautla there are several great haciendas 
or farming estates, some of them as extensive as counties. 
One which employs thousands of men is over three hun- 
dred thousand acres in extent, and within its limits are sev- 
eral Indian villages with their big churches. This part of 
Mexico is a sugar-cane country, and here can be seen great 
mills which convert the chopped stalk into sugar, the 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 323 

capacity of each mill being estimated by the hundred tons 
instead of the pound. From the sugar-mills you can see 
the glistening peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl — 
sugar-making within the sight of snow! Is there any 
other place on earth revealing such a contrast? 

An idea of the size of Mexican haciendas can be gained 
from the fact that one of the largest estates near Cuautla 
has two railway stations within its limits and its own line of 
railway. Such a thing, however, is not at all uncommon 
in Mexico. 

In the seventeenth century these great estates were to 
Mexico what the feudal castles were to Europe in earlier 
times. The hacienda house — the great stone mansion 
where the haciendado and his family lived — was then 
surrounded with farm buildings and the homes of the work- 
men. From early morn until night, trains of burros were 
constantly going in and out loaded with wood, maize, 
vegetables, poultry, baskets of fruit ; the great house having 
a life of its own, self-supporting, quite apart from the 
State. In the tower of the hacienda chapel, or if there was 
no chapel, then from an arch over the main entrance to the 
hacienda house, there was usually a bell which had been 
blessed. This was rung to call in the field-hands whenever 
danger threatened ; and as soon as the alarm sounded they 
would drop plough and sickle and run to the great house, 
where the women and children gathered in the patio while 
the senor armed the men with rifles from the storeroom. 
Then from the port-holes of the heavy stone walls, from 
the corner turrets and from the protected roof the hacienda's 
defenders were able to offer stout resistance against wander- 
ing marauders or bands of soldiery in search of plunder. 
In these peaceful times the bell is now rung only when rain 
or hail threatens in harvest time, as its blessed voice is sup- 
posed to be a charm against the elements. 



324 MEXICO 

In the daily life of these great haciendas many pictu- 
resque and beautiful customs still survive. An interesting 
description of some of these was given by the author of an 
article which recently appeared in one of the Mexican 
magazines. ''When the day's work is done/' says this 
writer, ''and the last red gleam has faded from the moun- 
tains, the field-hands gather together to sing the evening 
song of praise. A deep bass begins the chant : — 

' Dios te salve Maria.' 

A shrill, childish voice joins in : — 

* Dios te salve Maria.' 

Then from the long line of men and women rises the 
chorus : — 

' Dios te salve Maria 
Llena eres de gracia.' 

The Indian voices vary in pitch from a shriek to a roar. 
When the whole company joins in, each singing or yell- 
ing:— 

* Bendita tu eres 

Entre todas las mujeres,' 

one might imagine it to be the fierce war-song of the Aztec 
legions defending their royal city on the lakes. But it is 
only the 'Ave Maria' sung to the gentle Mother." 

In harvesting grain, short-bladed hand sickles are very 
commonly used. Whenever a reaper straightens up to 
rest from his work, he raises his hat and shouts in a high, 
monotonous key, "Ave Maria, Santissima !" Some fellow- 
worker in a neighboring field answers back, and so round all 
the wide fields a continuous cry of rejoicing goes up. If 
a field is fruitful, a cross, hung with wisps of grain and stif! 
decorations made from the maguey flower, is set up in a 
corner of it as a sign of thankfulness. Even the noxious 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 325 

pulque has its peculiar religious rites. As the peon pours 
the agua miel, freshly gathered from the maguey, into the 
evil-smelling cowhide vats of the tinacal, he calls out in a 
loud tone : ^' In the name of the holy sacrament on the altar ! 
Hail to the most pure Virgin Mary ! May the pulque turn 
out well." Every man in the building raises his hat. 

On many of the larger haciendas the baronial magnifi- 
cence which was once common is still kept up. Some of 
the great estates include villages with a population of peons, 
all laborers employed by the haciendado. It would take 
days to ride from one end to the other of these vast domains. 
Years ago, when there were no inns, any traveller could stop 
at the hacienda, sure of hospitality and a hearty welcome. 
In northern Mexico there is one immense hacienda which 
formerly controlled twenty thousand peons. Some of the 
great estates still remain in the hands of the original families, 
to whom they were granted at the Conquest. The owners 
of these properties enjoy princely incomes, and most of 
them keep elaborate houses in the capital, where they spend 
their wealth with a lavish hand. 

Many of the hacienda houses are comfortably furnished ; 
but even the richest Mexicans are more or less barbaric in 
their household ideas, and know very little of those luxuries 
which go to make up the delight of an American home. 
The cooking is usually atrocious, there are rarely bath- 
rooms and other requisites, and so primitive are the arrange- 
ments that very few people accustomed to modern civilized 
life would care to visit them. 

The great hacienda system has been a serious obstacle 
to progress in Mexico; and if these huge estates were di- 
vided up among smaller proprietors and properly cultivated, 
the country would be much richer. As it is, half the land 
is lying idle, going to waste, or is only half tilled. 

The agricultural methods in vogue on many of the old 



326 MEXICO 

estates are still very primitive, and there is oftentimes a 
curious mingling of the ancient and modern. The latest 
improved harvesting and threshing machines can sometimes 
be seen in operation, while not far off peons are ploughing 
with the old wooden ploughs and driving along the lumbering 
ox carts. Gr^in is still threshed in some places by driving 
teams of horses or mules over it every day for hours at a 
time, and is winnowed by being tossed in the air. While 
accepting a few modern improvements, the average haci- 
endado clings tenaciously to many of the old ways and is 
strongly opposed to giving them up. 

A wonderful variety of grains, fruits and vegetables 
are grown on the haciendas of Mexico. In the north the 
chief products are wheat, barley, maize, and other cereals, 
and in the south, sugar-cane, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, tobacco, 
pineapples, bananas and india-rubber. All over the coun- 
try there is a great cultivation of fibre plants. Some ha- 
ciendas, too, are exclusively devoted to the breeding of 
horses, cattle, and other live stock. 

Visits to the haciendas in the surrounding country form 
a very interesting diversion to life at Cuautla, and there 
are many interesting scenes to be witnessed in the old town 
itself. For, like many of the smaller Mexican towns, Cuautla 
still retains much of the romance and manners of sunny 
Spain. At night in the plaza there is Spain in miniature. 
One evening I passed an old fonda, open to the street, in 
which were gathered a number of peons, in their blankets 
and sombreros, drinking their aguardiente and playing 
their favorite game of picture-cards. Three picturesque 
natives twanged away merrily on old-fashioned mandolins 
and occasionally burst into song. In the neighboring 
plaza, beneath a sky brilliant with tropical stars and an 
unclouded moon, there strolled a few dark-eyed senoritas 
with their duennas, regarded with languishing looks by 



LIFE IN AN OLD MEXICAN TOWN 327 

the young seiiores who stood in groups beneath the old trees, 
greeting the fair ones with an occasional ''adios.'' In a 
side street I caught a glimpse of one or two faithful '' bears " 
standing below the balconies, chatting in low tones with 
the JuHets above. Evidently romance had not yet passed 
away in old Cuautla. 



CHAPTER XXI 

IN THE CRATER OF POPOCATEPETL 

As almost every tourist who gazes upon Mont Blanc is 
seized with the ambition to make an ascent, so there are 
few travellers who can behold Popocatepetl without feeling 
an overwhelming desire to scale this king of Mexican moun- 
tains. To do this was once regarded as a wonderful feat, 
and the adventurous traveller who performed it was ac- 
claimed as a hero. But nowadays, so prosaic has the world 
become, that scores of American tourists climb to the snowy 
heights of ^^Popo" every year, including the expedition 
as part of their ^^ round-trip" excursions to Mexico. 

Popocatepetl had fascinated me from the time I had 
first seen its wondrous outline standing sharply against 
the blue Mexican sky, its snow-clad tip glistening beneath 
the dazzling Mexican sun. Viewing Popocatepetl daily 
across the green fields of Cuautla, I became possessed of a 
keen desire to emulate the American tripper by including 
a climb to the summit as part of my own itinerary. I was 
given an unexpected opportunity to realize this desire 
when I received an invitation one day to meet some friends 
at Amecameca and join them in making an ascent of the 
great mountain. 

Amecameca is about halfway between Cuautla and Mex- 
ico City, or a distance of forty miles. The train which I 
took one morning made this journey in something like four 
hours ! It was a hot, dusty ride ; but as in other Mexican 

328 



IN THE CRATER OF POPOCATEPETL 329 

railway journeys that I had made the interesting sights to 
be seen on the way served to alleviate the discomforts and 
slowness of travel. 

Between Cuautla and Amecameca there is some won- 
derful scenery. Leaving the cultivated valley, the railway 
passes between a succession of lofty, treeless, sun-baked 
hills ; then, gradually climbing higher, opens up a splendid 
view of the surrounding mountains, with the great peaks 
of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl rising above them all. 
Many of these hills show unmistakable signs of volcanic 
action and the effects of the lava which once flowed from 
the two volcanos when they were active. 

A great deal of maguey is cultivated in this district, and 
there are several large plantations along the line. A num- 
ber of fibrous plants are also grown which are extensively 
employed in the manufacture of hemp. There are in Mexico 
about one hundred and fifty species of agave of various 
sizes, all fibre-producing plants, some of them having 
leaves as much as six or eight feet long. They thrive best 
in the semi-arid districts and in a thin, rocky limestone soil. 
All that is necessary is that the soil around the plant should 
be kept clear of weeds. 

Most important of these fibrous plants is henequen, which 
is extensively cultivated in Yucatan, the dry climate and 
sandy soil of that part of Mexico being peculiarly adapted 
to its cultivation. The fibre produced is used very largely 
in the manufacture of carpets, rugs, twines, ropes and 
bagging. Owing to the check that Manila hemp crops re- 
ceived from the Spanish-American War, Yucatan in recent 
years has acquired almost a monopoly of the hemp trade. 
Formerly one of the poorest States of Mexico, it has now 
become one of the richest. Enormous fortunes have been 
made by the henequen growers in the last ten years, many 
poor men having suddenly acquired great wealth. The 



330 MEXICO 

value of the fibres exported from Mexico every year now 
amounts to nearly 140,000,000. 

Some species of cactus are also valuable for their fibre- 
producing qualities, notably the ixtle, which was used ex- 
tensively by the Aztecs for weaving blankets. The famous 
tilma in the shrine of Guadalupe is made of this material. 
It is said that some cacti will produce an excellent quality 
of paper pulp, and experiments are being made with them. 
If the project is successful, it may do something towards 
reheving the situation in the paper trade caused by the 
decreasing area of forests available for paper-making 
purposes. 

The maguey, which supplies the national beverage, 
pulque, was found useful in other ways by the ancient races 
of Mexico. Its thorns were used for needles and pins, while 
the leaves made a good thatch for the roofs of their huts, 
and when properly prepared, furnished as good a material 
for their writing as the Egyptian papyrus. 

As in the trip from Mexico City to Cuernavaca, the 
line from Cuautla runs over the mountains, and at one 
point it reaches the altitude of nearly eight thousand feet. 
It passes through miles of cool pine woods with all the 
characteristics of a northern forest, and occasionally there 
are glimpses of the great wooded valley leading to Popo- 
catepetl, whose pointed snow peak towers above the clouds. 
Comparisons are always odious, but to my mind the mag- 
nificent distances to be seen here, the glorious blue sky, 
the thin, clear air, and the wonderful tints of the mountains 
and trees combine to form scenic beauties which rival even 
those of the valley. of Chamounix and Mont Blanc. At 
three in the afternoon I reached Amecameca, met my 
friends and had a good night's rest at the comfortable 
little hotel in this picturesque town, preparatory to mak- 
ing the ascent of the mountain the following day. 




ASCENT OF POPOCATEPETL. 
View of the snow-clad summit from the Half-way House. 







■pfs^>-f#^* 




hHBHHFV 



THE JOURNEY'S END. 
Mountain-climbers on the summit of Popocatepetl. 



IN THE CRATER OF POPOCATEPETL 331 

Not far from Amecameca is a new winter and summer 
resort under American management, known as ^'Popo 
Park " — that is how the Americans have abbreviated 
^'Popocatepetl Park." A large, comfortable hotel has been 
started at this place, which has become quite a popular 
week-end resort for people in the capital, especially 
during the winter months. Before long a motor road will 
be completed between Popo Park and the city, the distance 
being about forty miles. The hotel is situated in the midst 
of the pine woods, and although the air is cool during the 
day and sharp at night and in the morning, blazing wood 
fires enable the guests to be very comfortable. A number 
of wealthy people are building bungalows in the park, which 
is destined to become, in time, one of the most popular 
resorts in Mexico. 

This is the place from which tourists usually make the 
ascent of Popocatepetl (17,782 feet). The hotel manage- 
ment arranges all the details of the ascent, the cost for each 
person being $25. This includes a return ticket from Mex- 
ico City, room and board at the hotel, a guide, pack-mule, 
and complete outfit of bed, clothing and food for the trip. 
For $10 extra the visitor can be carried up the most diffi- 
cult part of the route after the animals are left behind, 
making the ascent possible to those who are too much af- 
fected by the high altitude to exert their strength. Visitors 
who come from Mexico City can make the trip to the summit 
and return to town in three days. 

Our party for the ascent consisted of three, each of us 
mounted on a sturdy mule. At midday we stopped for 
luncheon at the ranch of El Paraje, a point where many 
who set out to scale the mountain often turn back, either 
losing courage or finding the strain on the heart and lungs 
too great. As we left the ranch and rode onward, the 
scenery and vegetation began to change until only a few 



332 MEXICO 

stunted oyamal trees and patches of withered grass were to 
be seen. 

When we reached the ranch of Tlamacas at four in the 
afternoon, a freezing, bitter wind was blowing, there was 
a Hght fall of snow and we were glad to get inside the hut 
and warm ourselves at a wood fire. It was agreed that 
we should continue our journey to the summit at three 
o'clock in the morning. In spite of the fire and plenty of 
blankets, we spent the early hours of the night very uncom- 
fortably, as it was impossible to keep out the intense cold. 
At two in the morning, after refreshing ourselves with some 
hot tea, we commenced the ascent by the light of the full 
moon, its brilliant rays reflected by the white field of snow. 
As we mounted upwards, the path became more and more 
steep, the mules being compelled to stop frequently to 
gain their breath. We were forced at last to dismount and 
proceed on foot. In the far distance the City of Puebla, 
with its twinkling lights, could now be seen, backed by the 
towering peak of Orizaba. 

As we climbed steadily on, the moon sank behind the 
mountain heights and the sky was diffused with the first 
rosy flush of the coming dawn, a most beautiful sight. 
The green mountain looked so majestic that one could not 
wonder that it had taken its place with its companion, 
Ixtaccihuatl, in the mythology of the Aztecs. Legend says 
that Popocatepetl (the smoking mountain) and Ixtac- 
cihuatl (the woman in white) were once giants who, having 
displeased the gods, were transformed into mountains. 
The appearance of the smaller mountain strikingly illus- 
trates this story, for the outline of its summit bears a close 
resemblance to the form of a woman shrouded in snow. 
After being changed into mountains, the legend adds, the 
woman died, but the man was doomed to live on and to 
gaze on his beloved forever. At times, in his deep grief, 



IN THE CRATEB OF POPOCATEPETL 333 

he trembles and moans, while tears of fire course down his 
furrowed cheek. Both mountains are extinct volcanoes, 
Popocatepetl having been active within historical times. 
The fires of Ixtaccihuatl were probably the first to cease, 
thus giving rise to the beautiful legend. 

People who climb Popocatepetl are warned not to eat 
much, which advice is not altogether sound, as the great 
strain upon the system is weakening enough without the 
exhaustion necessarily caused by the lack of food. Before 
we had reached the summit we were all tired out, and our 
breathing became so labored that we were obliged to call a 
halt. Then we made a final struggle, pushing forward 
with a grim determination which was soon rewarded. 
A few minutes more of hard climbing brought us to the 
crater, and before our eyes was unfolded a magnificent scene. 
Around us were the rugged mountain heights, half shrouded 
with clouds of varied and beautiful tints, which in the 
course of an hour or two drifted away, enabling us to see 
into the depths of the vast crater. Here the scene vividly 
recalled the descriptions of the infernal regions in Dante's 
great poem. The rugged sides of the crater, glistening with 
yellow sulphurous incrustations, intermingled with masses 
of black volcanic earth and white patches of snow, assumed 
a thousand weird shadows and variegated colors; and on 
one side was a large pool of intensely green water. As a 
fitting accompaniment to this scene the air was filled with 
pungent fumes, and a strange noise was heard like the 
escaping of steam, combined with another sound which 
closely resembled the rapid firing of musketry. One of 
these noises is caused by the rush of sulphurous vapor 
from great fissures in the crater, called ^^respiratorios"; 
the other is made by stones which are continually being 
detached from the sides of the crater and fall into its depths. 
The smoke which issues from the fissures can only be seen 



334 MEXICO 

at close range, but it was formerly visible from a distance, 
thus giving rise to the name Popocatepetl or ^^ smoking 
mountain." 

After inspecting the bottom of the crater and being half 
choked by the sulphurous fumes which issued from its 
depths, we were glad to climb back to the outer edge. 
The rarefied air was so oppressive that we were constantly 
obliged to rest. Shortly afterwards the mists again sur- 
rounded us and we seemed to be standing on a rocky island 
in the midst of a boundless sea. We afterward learned that 
a storm was raging in the neighboring valley. Before long, 
however, the sun's rays pierced the mist, and it grew so 
warm that we were obliged to discard our blankets. 

Popocatepetl, is to-day owned by a company, and until 
recently a large force of peons were employed in mining the 
sulphur, of which there are enormous quantities visible; 
but the work of mining is extremely difficult, because the 
miners suffer greatly from exposure and the strain resulting 
from the high altitude. Work was abandoned a short time 
ago owing to these conditions and the difficulties of trans- 
portation. When Cortes invaded Mexico, he obtained 
the sulphur for making his gunpowder from the crater of 
Popocatepetl, some of his adventurous followers scaling 
the mountain and bringing down a large supply. 

The sulphur miners, after work, used to seat themselves 
on mats of rushes, give themselves a push and whiz down 
over the snow-field in a couple of minutes. There is said 
to be no danger in this feat, and many tourists have under- 
taken it. But the snow at the time of our visit was frozen 
into hummocks like the waves of a choppy sea, so we had 
to trudge down on foot. Having lunched on the summit, 
we commenced our descent, reaching Tlamacas a little after 
three o'clock, and after a brief rest mounted our mules 
and resumed our journey downwards to El Paraje, where 



IN THE CRATER OF POPOCATEPETL 335 

we spent the night. Next day we were back in Amecameca 
again. All our faces were reddened and burned by the glare 
from the snow-fields, and our bodies ached from the fatigue 
we had undergone, but otherwise we felt none the worse 
for our climb. 

Before leaving Amecameca I visited the famous sacred 
mountain, which is on the outskirts of the town. Here, in 
a deep cave which served as a hermitage, once lived the 
good friar Martin de Valencia, one of the ''twelve apostles 
of Mexico," who was sent by Pope Adrian the Sixth as a 
missionary to the Indians, with the title of ''Vicar of New 
Spain." After many years of faithful service he died, 
deeply revered by his flock, and was buried at Tlalmanalco ; 
but it IS said that the Indians secretly removed his body 
and buried it in the cave. A legend says that, years after 
his death, a mule, bearing an image of the Virgin intended 
for the parish church, stopped at the cave and refused to 
budge. This was regarded as a miraculous sign that the 
image was to be deposited there, and there it has remained 
ever since. It is removed once a year, on Ash Wednesday, 
when it is taken down, with great pomp, to the church and 
placed on the high altar. On Good Friday it is carried back 
to the cave. This is the occasion of a great fiesta at Ame- 
cameca, and visitors from all parts of Mexico come to see 
the passion play which is enacted in the town shortly before 
the image is taken back to the shrine. The representation 
of the Crucifixion by Indian actors is a wonderful sight. 

The play is opened by a body of horsemen enacting the 
role of centurions, who call upon the people to attend the 
sacred ceremony ; whereupon the vast multitude of Indian 
spectators makes a general movement to a hill near the 
church, supposed to represent Calvary, preceded by the 
various characters in the mystic drama. On the way to 
the hill a continuous roar goes up from the excited mob^ 



336 MEXICO 

and the representative of Judas is unmercifully pummelled 
and kicked. At the head of this strange procession walks 
the Indian representing the Saviour, staggering under the 
weight of a heavy cross, scourged and reviled by a number 
of other Indians representing the Jews. When, at last, the 
cross has been erected, and he has been raised and lashed 
to it, the air is rent with shrieks and yells, and a general 
fight often follows between the representatives of the Chris- 
tians and Jews, the latter barely escaping with their lives. 

Another weird scene is enacted at night when the sacred 
image is conveyed up the mountain side, escorted by a great 
multitude with torches, joining at intervals in a wild chant, 
while many of the devout crawl on their knees up the rocky 
path. 

Upon my return to Mexico City, where I arrived in the 
evening, I went to the Hotel Sanz. I was surprised to 
find this place in festal array, with its patio decorated with 
American and Mexican flags, and a large floral shield bear- 
ing the words, "Welcome, Shriners." On inquiry I learned 
there was another American invasion in progress, five 
hundred members of the masonic order, the Mystic Shriners, 
having come down to Mexico from the States to make a 
tour through the country and arouse interest in "shrining." 
The local newspapers were full of their doings. They were 
headed by the officers of the order, who were called "The 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine," while the chief officer bore the 
imposing title of "The High Imperial Potentate." Many 
of the members had brought their wives and daughters, so 
that there was a very large party. The wives of some of 
the Shriners seemed to take great delight in their husbands' 
titles and the pomp and paraphernalia of the order. On 
the other hand, I heard one irreverent Shriner, possessed of 
the Western craze for abbreviation, remark to an acquaint- 
ance, ''Say, old man, where's the Imp. Pot. stopping?" 



IN THE CRATER OF POPOCATEPETL 337 

0, great and imperial potentate, to think that a Shriner 
should have dared to brave the awful curses of the mystic 
shrine by dubbing you ^^ Imp. Pot." 

At their meetings the Shriners wore a sort of Turkish 
costume with a red fez, and they greeted each other with 
the word '^ Salaam." Next day, President Diaz gave them 
audience at the National Palace, receiving what the Shriners 
called a "grand salaam," and being presented with a 
jewelled fez. He was also enrolled as a member of the or- 
ganization. During their stay in the city the ladies of the 
Shriner party conducted a bazaar, which, for some reason 
unknown to ordinary mortals, was called a '^ Jamaica" — 
probably some mystic term only to be understood by the 
initiated. 

The Shriners not only saw the sights of the capital, but 
went in special trains to Cuernavaca and other places. 
With this swarm of American tourists in the city, San 
Francisco Street seemed more like the main street of an 
American town than the leading thoroughfare of the Mex- 
ican capital. The curio shops, the dulcerias, and the big 
department stores all did a rushing business. My admira- 
tion for President Diaz greatly increased, too, at this time. 
Half the American tourists wanted to see the President 
and grasp his hand in the same way as they treat their own 
President when they go to Washington. Some of them, 
with an eye to business, sought special interviews with the 
President to interest him in some gold-mining project, a 
meat-canning factory, an automobile, or even to reveal to 
him the wonders of a new patent medicine or hair-restorer. 
That so many of them succeeded certainly showed a won- 
derful amount of good nature on the part of Mexico's great 
ruler. 

Before I left the city, nearly fifty women from the 
Western States, mostly widows, came down in a body to 



338 MEXICO 



see Mexico, led by a very determined-looking female who 
had organized them into a sort of women's travel club. All 
of them wanted to see the President. I overheard one lady 
remark, '^Say, if that President Dye-az doesn't see us ladies, 
well, there's going to be trouble, that's all." The President 
must have considered it unsafe to refuse, for he received 
them all at the palace the next day. Hero as well as 
statesman, I say; for a man brave enough to face fifty 
determined women, mostly widows, is surely well fitted 
to rule a nation ! 

One afternoon a young woman belonging to this party 
entered the hotel writing-room in which I was sitting; a 
giddy-looking girl with light, fluffy hair, and rather over- 
dressed. She seemed to be quite excited. '^Oh, say," 
she remarked to one of the older women of somewhat 
prim and old-maidish appearance, ''I had such a funny 
experience on San Francisco Street just now. A young 
Mexican with big black eyes followed me and another girl. 
He was one of them Mexican dudes — lagerteegys they call 
'em. He kept a-saying all sorts of things like ^hermosy' 
and Mulcy.' The girl I was with understood Spanish, and 
she said he was a-saying ' beautiful girl,' 'lovely eyes,' 
'sweetness.' Say, wasn't it funny?" The elderly lady 
gave a snort of contempt and disapproval. " I should just 
like to see one of those lagerteegys follow me and say such 
things," she retorted. The girl went off giggling, and com- 
menced singing, ''Oh, take me back to New York town." 
A few minutes later I heard her remark to a friend out in 
the patio, ''Say, did you hear what she said? Why, she 
said she'd like to see one of them lagerteegys follow her. 
Well, I guess if a lagerteegy ever did he'd never escape." 






CHAPTER XXII 

GUADALAJARA THE WONDERFUL 

''Give me a ticket to that place, please/' said an Ameri- 
can tourist to the booking-clerk at the Mexican Central 
Railway office. The man from the States held out a rail- 
way guide in which he had marked the name of the place 
to which he wished to travel; for he had serious doubts 
about the correct pronunciation of it. 

''You want a ticket to Guadalajara," replied the clerk, 
but he pronounced it something like "Wahda-la-hara." 

This beautiful city with the perplexing name has a popu- 
lation of over a hundred thousand, is three hundred and 
eighty miles northwest of Mexico City and is not far from 
the Pacific coast. It has the distinction of being the hand- 
somest, the cleanest, and most cheerful of Mexican cities ; 
it is also acknowledged to be next in importance to the 
capital, although Puebla has long claimed that honor. 

The wonderful progress that Mexico has made within 
recent years is strikingly exemplified in the case of Guada- 
lajara, which, less than twenty years ago, was a sleepy, back- 
ward place but little known to the outside world. The 
nearest railway was then some distance away, and travellers 
from the capital were obliged to make a large part of the 
journey in slow, uncomfortable stage-coaches. To-day, 
Guadalajara has become a busy, cosmopolitan city and an 
important railway centre; while on account of its great 
manufacturing industries it might be appropriately called 
the Manchester of Mexico. 

339 



340 MEXICO 

The Mexican Central Railway maintains a good service 
of trains between Mexico City and Guadalajara, so that the 
journey can be made in absolute comfort if not with exces- 
sive speed. I left the capital at eight o'clock one evening 
and reached Guadalajara at one the next afternoon, making 
the journey in a comfortable Pullman car. 

For most of the distance the railway traverses the great 
central plateau, and the country, as seen from the train, 
presented the usual vista of arid lands, dry, yellow grass 
and occasional green, irrigated fields. Forming a distant 
background to these typical highland scenes were the out- 
lines of a range of reddish, barren mountains which some- 
times assumed fantastic shapes and were evidently of vol- 
canic origin. Most of the watercourses were dry, but once 
or twice we crossed small streams and one winding, shallow 
river of fair size. Very few towns or villages are to be 
seen on the way, the majority of those along the route 
being hidden among the hills a little distance from the 
line. Sometimes there would be a mule-car at the way- 
side stations to take travellers to some invisible town. 

This part of Mexico, including the State of Jalisco, of 
which Guadalajara is the capital, was originally called Nueva 
Gahcia by the Spanish colonists who settled there in 1530. 
Most of these colonists came from Andalusia, and the pleas- 
ant manners and light-hearted ways of their descendants 
are still typical of sunny Spain. The women, too, have 
the reputation of being the most beautiful in Mexico. 
Guadalajara was founded in 1540, and was called Espiritu 
Santo, but was afterwards given its present name, after 
Wadal-il-harah, the Moorish capital. In this part of the 
country there are many delightful towns and villages, with 
fine old churches and other substantial buildings left as 
mementos of Spanish domination. 

Guadalajara certainly merits its reputation of being the 



GUADALAJABA THE WONDERFUL 341 

most beautiful city in Mexico. It is a bright, clean town 
with wide asphalted streets and handsome white stone build- 
ings, which, in the principal thoroughfares, are mostly in 
the modern Spanish style. Looking down the broad streets, 
one sees a distant vista of mountains; for Guadalajara lies 
in the midst of a plain with mountains rising around it. 
The streets run at right angles, intersecting a number of 
parks and plazas filled with shady tropical trees and re- 
splendent with flowers. If there are any slum streets in 
the city, they are very carefully concealed. I saw none. 
The peons whom I encountered in the highways and by- 
ways also seemed to partake of the general cleanliness of the 
place; they looked much more intelligent than any I had 
seen before. 

Not only is Guadalajara a beautiful city, but it is a busy 
commercial place. In the principal streets there are good 
shops of all kinds, numerous banks and commercial agen- 
cies, and other outward signs of wealth and prosperity. 

From its appearance no one would imagine Guadalajara 
to be an important manufacturing place; there are no 
huge chimneys belching forth black smoke such as are seen 
in our manufacturing towns. The fact is that all the 
machinery in the local factories is driven by the same 
electrical power which lights the streets and runs the street 
cars, this power being generated by the great falls of the 
Lcrma River a few miles distant. Here, again, is evidence 
of the wonderful progress that is being made in Mexico 
in the utilization of water-power. 

In addition to all these advantages, Guadalajara is blessed 
with one of the finest climates in the world. Like Cuautla 
and some other favored places, it is situated at an altitude 
of five thousand feet, which gives it an average temperature 
of about seventy degrees the year round — a perennial 
June. During the winter months the city has probably 



342 MEXICO 

the driest air on the American continent, which, with its 
balmy climate, makes it a favored resort for invalids suffer- 
ing from bronchial or lung affections. The early mornings 
and late evenings are never cold, as in the higher altitudes, 
but occasionally a light overcoat can be worn with comfort. 

As in most Mexican cities, the life of Guadalajara centres 
about its main plaza, which is famed for its beauty, its palms, 
orange trees, and tropical flowers being forever green. 
Beneath the portales, which border two of its sides, are a 
number of fine shops and cafes, and also facing it is the 
Governor's Palace, a magnificent building of white stone 
which would command attention in any European capital. 
All over the city there are imposing old churches dating from 
early Spanish times, tinted in beautiful soft colors and hav- 
ing wonderful towers and domes. Adjoining the plaza is 
the cathedral, a beautiful edifice commenced in 1561 and 
completed in 1618, with two tall Gothic towers, wholly 
unlike any others in Mexico, which can be seen from a long 
distance. The interior is rich in decorations and paintings, 
and in the sacristy is preserved Murillo's '^ Assumption," 
for which $75,000 has been refused. 

This picture is one of the twenty-seven versions of the 
theme painted by Murillo. When Napoleon invaded 
Spain, the clergy of Guadalajara, in testimony of patriotic 
devotion, sent King Carlos the Fourth a large sum of money 
to aid in the defence of the country. In recognition of this 
the king presented the cathedral with Murillo's master- 
piece from his collection in the Escurial. When the French 
were in Mexico in 1864, and captured Guadalajara during 
Maximilian's short reign, they endeavored to seize the paint- 
ing as a trophy for the Louvre, but it was concealed, and 
even an offer of $25,000 did not lead to a revelation of its 
hiding-place. 

In one of the buildings overlooking the main plaza is 



GUADALAJARA THE WONDERFUL 343 

the American Club, where visiting Americans and EngHsh- 
men are welcomed. There are quite a number of Americans 
in the city ; they have started several churches and a school, 
and there is an enterprising weekly newspaper, the Jalisco 
Times. The well-to-do Americans have established them- 
selves in a beautiful quarter where the wide streets are lined 
with shady trees and the houses are embowered in tropical 
foliage. This district, which is rapidly assuming an Ameri- 
canized appearance, is popularly known as the American 
Colony. 

On several evenings during the week a fine military 
band plays in the main plaza, and it is now the fashion for 
the elite of the city to ride round and round while the con- 
cert is in progress, the promenading, which was formerly 
in vogue, having been practically discontinued. Even in 
these prosaic days a wonderfully picturesque sight is pre- 
sented when the band is playing. The music, the balmy 
tropical evening, the plaza illuminated with its many 
electric lights, the palms, flowers and orange trees, the 
peons in their red sarapes and sombreros, the lines of car- 
riages passing round, filled with dark-eyed beauties daintily 
attired as in summer-time, — all, under a clear sky, dazzling 
stars and a glorious moon, combine to make a scene of en- 
chantment. 

There is, in fact, a good deal of life in Guadalajara, and 
the atmosphere of the place is far more cheerful than that 
of Mexico City. The climate, too, is much more favorable 
for outdoor life; and you can sit outside a cafe enjoying 
your refresco while listening to the music in the plaza with- 
out having the chilly sensation and dread of pneumonia 
that are too often experienced in the capital. 

Guadalajara has five theatres, one of them, the Degollado, 
being the largest on the American continent, excepting, 
perhaps, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. It is 



344 MEXICO 

a handsome building much larger and finer externally than 
any theatre in the United States. In the city there are 
twenty-eight hotels and twenty-five public baths, and 
when it is remembered that Guadalajara did not have a 
railway to it seventeen years ago, these statistics are inter- 
esting. 

The day after my arrival the city was en fete, celebrating 
one of the numerous Mexican pubHc hohdays. The busi- 
ness buildings were gayly decorated with the national colors 
of red, white and green, there was a civic and military 
procession and the streets resounded with the strains of 
music. Itinerant vendors of all kinds had gathered round 
the plaza, giving the place quite a festive appearance. 
The streets were thronged with sight-seers, and the smart 
American electric cars which run through the city and out 
to the suburbs were crowded with passengers. 

In the midst of this hohday-making a large party of 
Mystic Shriners arrived from Mexico City and found 
quarters at one of the large hotels. They were given a 
luncheon by their compatriots residing in the city, and while 
this was in progress, some good music was furnished by one 
of the local military bands. In honor of their American 
visitors, the Mexican musicians played a selection of Amer- 
ican national airs, such as the Star-Spangled Banner, Hail 
Columbia, and Yankee Doodle. Most of the Shriners had 
a very limited knowledge of Spanish, and at the conclusion 
of this compHmentary pot-pourri some of them shouted 
such appreciative American phrases as '^Good, good; 
bully for the Mexicans," while several enthusiasts yelled 
'^ Adios, adios " (good-by), evidently thinking that the word 
was synonymous with '^ Bravo." The bandsmen naturally 
understood it to mean that the Americans wanted them to 
go, having had enough of their music, so they commenced 
to pack up their instruments preparatory to marching off. 



I 



GUADALAJARA THE WONDERFUL 345 

It was only when the High Imperial Potentate himself 
hurried to the bandmaster and explained matters with the 
aid of an interpreter that the irate musicians were pacified 
and smilingly resumed their playing. 

The Shriners were afterwards given a reception at the 
American Club, all the members and their wives being pres- 
ent to meet the visitors and the ladies of their party. It 
was there that I had an opportunity of meeting the ''Imp. 
Pot./' who, throwing off his imperial dignity for the time 
being, was very convivial, told funny stories in the smoking- 
room, and indeed was quite the life of the party. 

Leaving the club later on to return to my hotel, I strolled 
across the plaza, with its throngs of fashionably dressed 
people, and went along one of the quieter streets. Here 
I witnessed a scene which furnished a delightful contrast to 
the rush of prosaic modern progress which is rapidly trans- 
forming the ancient City of Guadalajara. A drowsy peon 
and his boy were slowly driving a large flock of turkeys along 
the street, keeping them in motion with the aid of long 
sticks with which they occasionally prodded the birds. 
This is one of the olden customs of Guadalajara which still 
survives, in spite of the city's wonderful up-to-dateness. 
Instead of going to a poultry shop, the housekeepers 
of Guadalajara buy their turkeys from these vendors as 
they pass through the streets. Sometimes the purchaser 
has the bird despatched on the spot, but, in most cases, 
the turkey is kept for a week and fattened until it is in 
prime condition for the highly seasoned stew into which 
it is made. 

During my stay in the city I paid a visit to the Hospicio, 
one of Guadalajara's public institutions which is unique in 
its way. Instead of being a hospital, as its name would in- 
dicate, it is an asylum for the poor of all ages. It is a series 
of great stone buildings covering an entire square, contains 



346 MEXICO 

twenty-three patios with fountains and flowers, and shelters 
a strange assortment of humanity, — aged men and women, 
boys and girls and even babies. The inmates all looked 
well-fed and cheerful, everything was scrupulously clean 
and the appointments of the place would have done credit 
to any American institution. The children in the Hospicio 
are given a good education, and when they grow older are 
taught some useful occupation. In one of the departments 
which I visited, the girls, mostly Indians, were making some 
beautiful embroideries. 

Electric traction, which has done so much in developing 
the suburbs of some American towns, is having the same 
effect on the growth of Guadalajara, the laying of suburban 
street-railway hues having caused the city to extend in 
every direction. There are few rides in the world which in 
point of picturesqueness can equal those about Guadala- 
jara; the swift-moving cars, passing through fields of trop- 
ical vegetation and between hedges of cactus and palms, 
reach the plain from which there are superb views of the 
lofty mountains and distant glimpses of the beautiful 
white city. 

In the village of San Pedro, to which the cars run, many 
of the wealthy citizens of Guadalajara have their country 
houses, and some of these are very charming. The famous 
Guadalajara ware comes from the potteries in this village, 
which turn out all sorts of water-jars and bottles in various 
beautiful shapes. They also make little figures represent- 
ing almost every phase of Mexican life, such as water- 
carriers, cargadores, mule-drivers, vaqueros or cowboys, 
colored most cleverly and wonderfully modelled. An in- 
teresting collection of these can be bought for a few dollars. 
San Pedro is the home of two Indian sculptors, the Pan- 
duros, father and son, and at their studio a visitor who 
wishes to carry away a souvenir of Guadalajara can have 




THE OLD AND NEW. 

Street-car lines and electric-light posts are here shown in one of the old streets 
of Guadalajara. 



GUADALAJARA THE WONDERFUL 347 

his bust or statuette modelled in clay while he waits. These 
statuettes are wonderfully lifelike and are colored with 
great accuracy. 

One morning I went out to see the most wonderful of 
Guadalajara's local sights, a deep gorge called the barranca, 
about six miles from the city. This, at some points, has 
a depth of nearly three thousand feet, and as cHmate in 
Mexico depends entirely upon altitude, this freak of nature 
enables Guadalajara, situated in the temperate zone, to 
have the climate and fruits of the tropics only six miles 
away, large quantities of bananas, cocoanuts and other 
hot-land fruits being grown in the depths of the barranca. 
In the higher lands adjacent to the city the fruits and vege- 
tables of temperate lands are grown the year round, so that 
the people of Guadalajara are provided with a bountiful 
supply of good things for the table. 

A small tram-car drawn by two sturdy mules took me 
to the beginning of the barranca, the line ending at the 
edge of this great chasm, where the scenery is magnificent, 
somewhat resembhng that of the Grand Canon of Arizona 
— a series of great castellated rocks, frowning precipices 
and deep abysses. Mounting a horse, I rode for miles down 
a winding road to the depths of the rocky gorge, experi- 
encing a wonderful change of climate. At the top of the 
barranca the air was fresh and balmy ; at the bottom of this 
natural hot-house the heat was tropical in its intensity. 
The ride, however, was dehghtful, my rocky path bordering 
the narrow Lerma River which flows through the depths 
of the barranca, dashing over the rocks amidst the tropical 
verdure of banana plants, orange trees and cocoanut palms ; 
on either side the towering walls of the gorge rear them- 
selves in perpendicular cliffs. 

From Guadalajara the Mexican Central Railway has been 
extended westward between one hundred and fifty and 



348 MEXICO 

two hundred miles to Manzanillo, an important port on the 
Pacific coast. With the completion of this fine Guadala- 
jara will now become still more important as a commercial 
centre, as the new ports of the Pacific coast will give access 
to the trade of the interior. The line opens up a vast 
mining region, rich in gold, silver, copper and lead. It 
runs through a fertile, picturesque country of high moun- 
tains, small lakes, rolling hills and broad valleys. The 
only active volcano in North America is a few miles from 
the line, — Colima, twelve thousand feet high, — twice as 
high as Vesuvius and higher than Mount Etna. From 
Manzanillo steamers run regularly to San Francisco and 
other American ports as well as to ports in southern Mexico. 
Thousands of cattle are raised on the plains west of Guada- 
lajara, and in the hot lands along the coast all kinds of 
tropical fruits are grown. In the State of Cohma, through 
which the railway passes, there are a large number of coffee 
plantations. 

The State of Jalisco, in which Guadalajara is situated, 
is one of the most important in the Mexican union in point 
of population, and it is also one of the richest. It is a won- 
derfully fertile country, and having an abundance of running 
streams, irrigation is carried on extensively ; it is also well 
wooded, some of the mountain ranges being covered with 
forests of timber suitable for all purposes. While manu- 
facturing, agriculture and cattle-raising have hitherto been 
the main industries of Jalisco, mining now bids fair to take 
a foremost place. In recent years some rich mines of copper 
and other minerals have been developed in the western part 
of the State, on the route of the new railway extension. 

Many of the members of the American Club whom I 
met in Guadalajara were engaged in mining in the moun- 
tains west of the city, and were enthusiastic concerning the 
mineral-producing possibilities of the country. The future 



GUADALAJABA THE WONDERFUL 349 

development of these great states of Jalisco and Colima 
offer wonderful opportunities for the investment of capital, 
and undoubtedly this part of Mexico is destined to be one 
of the richest countries on the face of the earth. 

Mining developments in the neighborhood of Guadala- 
jara have brought there the usual number of ^^men with 
schemes." Strolling round the plaza one evening, I noticed 
some Americans of the Western ^^ schemer" type seated to- 
gether talking very excitedly. As I passed them, I caught 
such remarks as " The biggest thing in Mexico ; mil- 
lions in it." One of the prospective millionaires produced 
the usual piece of ore from his pocket and I heard him say, 
^^Well, gentlemen, I've got the golderndest richest propo- 
sition here that you ever heard of. This little chunk of 
metal came from over Colima way and — wal, there's just 
simply milhons in the little hole it came out of." I waited 
to hear no more, but fled. Was I never to escape from these 
men of millions ? 

What the men of schemes probably did not know is the 
astounding fact that some of the streets of Guadalajara 
are actually paved with gold. A few years ago, when the 
asphalt company repaved the city streets, the asphaltum 
was mixed with tailings from the old Spanish and Mexican 
reduction works in the Etzatlan district of Jalisco. After 
the paving had been done, the company's manager, out of 
curiosity, had a number of assays made of the old tailings. 
To his surprise, these assays revealed the fact that the 
tailings contained about fifteen dollars' worth of gold and 
silver in each ton. About four hundred tons of tailings 
were used in paving, so the net amount of gold and silver 
laid in the streets represented over $6000. 

On leaving Guadalajara, I took the train to Atequiza, a 
village about forty miles from the city, the nearest station to 
Lake Chapala, where I had arranged to spend a week-end. 



350 MEXICO 

There are few important rivers and lakes in Mexico, but 
two of the latter, Chapala and Patzcuaro, are famous for 
their great size and beauty. Chapala is becoming a popular 
resort for visitors from all parts of Mexico. From Ate- 
quiza an old-fashioned stage-coach drawn by eight mules 
takes travellers to the village of Chapala on the shores of 
the lake. 

Between Atequiza and Guadalajara there is a large 
hacienda through which the railway runs for several miles, 
and being so close to the city, this property has become 
extremely valuable. It employs an army of peons, and on 
its farms are grown all kinds of fruits and vegetables. 
There are broad fields of grain and large grazing grounds 
for herds of sheep and cattle. The stage-coach runs through 
one of the hacienda villages, with its church, schoolhouse, 
several modern mills, ancient granaries, massive dwellings 
and adobe huts. 

The road from Atequiza to Chapala, like most Mexican 
country roads, is not macadamized, but is full of rocks and 
ruts which toss the old coaches about like ships in a stormy 
sea. Lucky are those passengers who get outside seats, 
for those who ride inside are almost choked with dust 
before the journey is over. Recently some steps have 
been taken to improve the public highway from Guadala- 
jara to Chapala, and although the road would stagger most 
American motorists, several cars come over it every week 
from the city to the lake. 

I sat beside the stage-coach driver, and was very much 
amused at the way in which he kept his eight animals on 
the move with constant cracks of his long whip and frequent 
trilhng a-r-r-es, which he would vary with shouts of ^^mula, 
macho" — mula being the female, and macho the male, 
mule. How they ever managed to drag the great lumber- 
ing stage-coach, with its load of passengers and luggage, 



GUADALAJARA THE WONBEBFUL 351 

I could not understand. A German mechanical engineer 
who was my fellow-passenger, remarked to me, ^'This coach 
is typical of old Mexico. They use it simply because their 
forefathers used a coach of this kind. It's a big load in 
itself without any extra weight. A light American coach 
would get over the ground in half the time and stand the 
wear and tear just as well; but these fellows wouldn't 
think of using one because ' no es costumbre/ it isn't the cus- 
tom." The only redeeming trait that I could see about the 
old vehicle was that it was picturesque. It was unwieldy 
and uncomfortable, being hung upon leather bands instead 
of steel springs, and jolting so much that the unfortunate 
passengers inside had to be strapped in their seats to keep 
them in their places. 

So we swayed and jolted over the rough road, bordered 
with low stone walls dividing the cultivated fields from the 
highway, winding up and down hill amongst rocky moun- 
tains until, in the distance, we saw the glistening waters of 
Chapala melting away to the horizon; by the side of the 
lake was nestling the village of Chapala, set in a little oasis 
of green verdure, and towering above the housetops were 
the two beautiful spires of the parish church. A few miles 
more and we clattered down the main street, over the 
rough cobble-stones, to the door of the hotel. 

There are three hotels at Chapala, all very much alike. 
I found quarters at the Arzapalo, a rambling stone building 
of two stories, a few feet from the lake and commanding 
some beautiful views. Although somewhat crude in a few 
minor particulars, the place was comfortable and, for a 
Mexican hotel at least, unusually well managed. 

Very few Americans have ever heard of Lake Chapala, 
although it is one of the largest lakes in the world. It 
is seventy miles long, east and west, and twenty miles across 
at some points, covering a superficial area of a thousand 



352 MEXICO 

square miles. It has an altitude of about five thousand 
feet and is surrounded by mountains, some of which are over 
ten thousand feet. They are covered with scrubby trees 
and vegetation of various hues that add much to the beauty 
of the scenery. 

All along the shores of the lake, and in the Lerma River 
which runs into it, hundreds of peons are employed in 
gathering and burning yellow water-lily which has invaded 
the waters. A few years ago some imbecile planted a 
quantity of the lily in the river, thinking it would look 
pretty. In an incredibly short time it spread like wildfire ; 
some of the streams were completely choked with it, and 
when I visited Chapala the river was covered in places 
with green masses of the plant. It had spread all along the 
lake when the Mexican government took the matter in 
hand and appropriated a large sum of money for its destruc- 
tion. At night, fires can be seen blazing along the shores 
of the lake where the peons have collected and are burning 
large piles of the noxious weed. 

The village of Chapala is built on the northern shore of 
the lake, where a sloping, sandy beach makes a capital 
bathing place. The narrow streets centre at a tiny plaza 
adorned with orange trees and other tropical vegetation. 
Here on Sundays the market is held, and picturesque natives 
from the surrounding country pour into the little town and 
gather there. A number of pretty villas are dotted along 
the lake's side, embowered in bougainvillea and hibiscus, 
palms and orange trees. On a hill a short distance from 
the shore some land has been divided into building lots 
for villas, with the idea of starting a model American sum- 
mer village ; but the price of the ground is so high — about 
$1000 per lot — that very few purchasers had been found. 

A rude pier of rough stones extends into the water, and 
here one can embark in a rowing or sailing boat or a naphtha 



GUADALAJABA THE WONBEUFUL 353 

launch and take trips up and down the lake. There are 
one or two old-fashioned steamers on it, but they do not 
make regular runs and have to be chartered for special 
trips. There are also a number of small fishing schooners. 
The little village, with its big white church and mountain- 
ous background, bears a wonderful resemblance to some 
of the lake villages in northern Italy, and makes a most 
beautiful picture. This little bit of the lake might be taken 
for a scene on Como ; but the waters of Chapala are slightly 
yellowish instead of blue. The lake, too, is very shallow, 
and for this reason the government has prohibited its waters 
being used for irrigation. 

In the lake there are some small white fish (pescados 
blancos) which are caught with nets, but there is nothing 
to tempt the angler. The Mexican government is now 
stocking the waters with trout, bass, perch and other game 
fish, which may eventually make the lake more attractive 
to lovers of the rod and reel; but the Indians along the 
shore are such inveterate netters that it will be very diffi- 
cult to breed the fish. 

For the sportsman Chapala is far more attractive. Lying 
along some parts of the lake are extensive flats that are 
overflowed at high water. During the winter months these 
swamps are favorite resorts for myriads of feathered visitors 
from the north, ducks of all kinds and sizes, snipe, plover, 
geese, swans, and in fact all varieties of birds that like 
muddy creeks and shallow waters here congregate and 
fatten. While I was in Chapala a retired English naval 
officer, who had been cruising about the lake, brought in 
thirty geese one evening, the result of only one day's shoot- 
ing. He said that Chapala afforded the finest wild-fowl 
shooting that he had ever enjoyed in his travels. 

Chapala is beautiful at all times, but is particularly 
charming as the day wanes; in fact, it is famous for its 
2a 



354 MEXICO 

sunsets. The great expanse of waters with its mountainous 
background then becomes a thing of wondrous beauty. 
As night falls a stiff breeze generally springs up, which makes 
the air very fresh and invigorating. Then the waters of 
the lake dash on the shore and break over the pier in marked 
contrast to their placid appearance in the daytime. 

A short distance along the shore, within sight of the beau- 
tiful electric-lighted villas, there is another of those queer 
contrasts so often met with in Mexico. Here is a little 
village of Indian fishermen who live in huts or wigwams 
of rushes and adobe, some of the fishing houses being built 
on piles in the lake like those of the prehistoric lake-dwellers 
in Switzerland. These Indians are the descendants of the 
fierce Chapaltecos, one of the last tribes subdued by the 
Spaniards. At sunset these wild-looking creatures, in 
very scanty raiment, can be seen casting their nets in the 
lake and catching the small white fish, which they sell in 
the neighborhood. To visit this place when the sun is 
setting, and see the weird figures flitting about beneath 
the semitropical foliage, conversing in low tones in their 
ancient dialect, living the most primitive of lives, makes 
it almost impossible to realize that hardly a mile away 
are comfortable hotels, newspapers, the telegraph, the 
telephone, a railway, Pullman cars and other adjuncts of 
latter-day civilization. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



From the days of the Spanish Conquest, Mexico has taken 
the lead as a silver-producing country; it is preeminently 
the land of silver, and it has furnished fully one-third of the 
world's supply of this precious metal. Silver is found al- 
most everywhere in the country, but the richest mines are 
those in the vicinity of the ancient city of Guanajuato. 
From these wonderful mines came a large part of the treas- 
ure which helped to build up the great Spanish empire; 
and much of the glittering white metal was coined into those 
huge pieces of eight which figure so prominently in pirate 
stories. It is to its great mining industry that Guanajuato 
owes its existence and its prosperity, and to-day it is popu- 
larly known as 'Hhe silver city." 

It was to this interesting place that I set out on leaving 
Lake Chapala. Jolting back to Atequiza in the old stage- 
coach one morning, I took the train southward 136 miles 
to the junction of Iripuato, which I reached late in the 
afternoon. Iripuato, a pretty little town with a population 
of twenty thousand, is situated in the midst of a rich farm- 
ing country, wheat, maize, fruit, vegetables and various 
other products of the temperate zone being grown on the 
haciendas. To Mexicans the name of Iripuato is synony- 
mous with strawberries, as that delicious fruit is grown there 
all the year round and sold every day in the year. Swarms 
of peons with large basketfuls of luscious berries surround 
the trains when they arrive, offering their wares for sale. 

355 



356 MEXICO 

On changing at Iripuato, a train of the Mexican National 
Railway took me to Silao in about an hour, where there was 
a change to another train and a ride of about half an hour 
to Marfil. It was late in the evening when I left the train 
there. A cargador piloted me to the outside of the station, 
where there were three little street-cars, one first-class and 
two second-class, each drawn by two mules. The first- 
class car was already packed with passengers, and I had to 
stand on the rear platform, which was also crowded. We 
started off at a good pace, rattling down an unlighted 
country road. Occasionally, in the semi-darkness, I could 
catch a glimpse of rolling hills on each side of the road, 
quaint stone bridges over a rushing stream, and square, 
massive stone buildings which a fellow-passenger informed 
me were silver-reduction works. 

Although Guanajuato has a population of over forty 
thousand, and is an important city, the railway when I 
arrived there was still three miles distant, and this little 
street-car was the only means of getting passengers and their 
baggage into the place. A large force of men were at work, 
however, extending the line into the city, where a station 
was being built. 

The unlighted, dusty road eventually gave place to the 
narrow, cobble-paved, electric-lighted streets of the city. 
Along the way were houses and business buildings of the 
usual Mexican type, built of stone or stucco, with barred 
windows, balconies and fiat roofs, but looking much more 
dingy and ancient than any I had yet seen. The streets 
were thronged with blanketed natives, and there seemed 
to be an unusually large number of street vendors squat- 
ting beside their little stalls, selling fruit, dulces and other 
articles. At first sight Guanajuato seemed to be a typical 
city of the past. Unlike Guadalajara, there were no smart 
modern buildings in the principal streets, no swift-moving 



''THE SILVER CITY'' 85T 

electric cars, no asphalt paving ; and the whole place seemed 
to be enveloped in a drowsy, old-world atmosphere. 

I went to an American hotel, which was the usual old 
Spanish mansion slightly transformed. In its palmy days 
it must have been quite a palatial residence, this rambling 
old building, with all sorts of queer corridors and a large 
central patio where there was a moss-covered fountain and 
bright flowers. It was quaint and rather crude in its ap- 
pointments, but comfortable enough, and the meals were 
well cooked and served. 

Guanajuato is two hundred and fifty miles from Mexico 
City, and is the capital of the State of the same name. It 
has an altitude of nearly seven thousand feet, so that its 
climate is not so uniform as that of Guadalajara, the days 
being usually warmer, while the nights and mornings are 
much colder. Built in a deep, narrow valley or gulch be- 
tween the mountains, the situation of the city bears some 
resemblance to that of the lower town of Carlsbad; but 
the surrounding mountains, unlike those at Carlsbad, are 
sun-baked, treeless and overgrown with cactus. 

The city derives its name from the word '' Quanashuato,'^ 
meaning the Hill of the Frogs, which was given to it by the 
Tarascan Indians, whose descendants still inhabit this part 
of Mexico. After the Conquest, the Spaniards altered it 
to Guanajuato (pronounced Wah-nah-wahto). There is no 
extant tradition throwing any light on why this place was 
called the Hill of the Frogs, unless it was so named in honor 
of some Indian deity. This theory has gained some sup- 
port from the fact that a huge frog cut in stone was found 
during some excavations in the city a few years ago. Silver 
mining, the industry for which Guanajuato is famous, was 
commenced by the Spaniards in 1548, and the first settle- 
ment was started in 1557. 

Owing to the peculiar situation of the city, very few of 



358 MEXICO 

the streets are level. Craggy mountains rise above the 
housetops, and the side streets run up hill, oftentimes hav- 
ing cobble-stone steps. Perched on the hillsides that rise 
almost perpendicularly above the city are huts of adobe 
and low, flat-roofed, stucco houses, tinted pale blue, cream 
and pink, in such out-of-the-way spots that you wonder how 
even a goat could ever reach them. The whole place, with 
its houses of antique mould, has an appearance that 
strongly reminds one of some city in the East, in Egypt or 
the Holy Land. Guanajuato is admitted by travellers to 
be one of the most picturesque cities in the world, and 
it is unlike any other in Mexico. Many of its streets 
are irregular, precipitous, rock-paved paths upon which 
wheeled vehicles are seldom seen, and down whose steep 
inchnes half-dressed, picturesque men, women and children 
of the peon class contest the right of way with dashing 
horsemen and droves of patient burros. 

A stone's throw from the hotel and right in the centre 
of the city is the principal plaza, the Jardin de la Union, a 
pretty square with shady trees and ever blooming flowers. 
Here, three or four times a week, good music is played by 
the local regimental band. Here, too, are some good shops, 
one or two fine old churches and a magnificent theatre 
(el Teatro Juarez) which would be a credit to London or 
Paris. This beautiful structure of pale green stone and 
marble, with a grand portico surmounted with statues, took 
twenty years to build and cost over a million dollars. Its 
internal decorations are magnificent, being unsurpassed by 
those in any other theatre of its class in North America. 
Near the plaza is the Mint, the Governor's Palace, and other 
fine public buildings. Some of the old churches have elab- 
orately carved fronts, and the cathedral, a beautiful struc- 
ture in early Spanish style, has a fine chime of bells, a 
rarity in Mexico. 



''THE SILVER CITY'' 359 

One of the most interesting old buildings in the city is 
the Alhondiga or Castilla de Granaditas, erected in 1785 
as a chamber of commerce and now used as a prison. 
When the first War of Independence broke out in 1810, 
the followers of the Mexican patriot priest, Hidalgo, forced 
their way into the city, and after a fierce battle captured 
the Spanish garrison, which had taken refuge in the Alhon- 
diga. While the attack was in progress, Hidalgo called 
for a volunteer to go under the walls and set fire to the 
massive doors. A stalwart peon came forward, and with 
a large flat stone on his back as a shield against the Span- 
iard's shots, rushed in, torch in hand, and burned down 
the doors, giving admittance to Hidalgo and his followers. 
Breaking into the patio, the patriots met the Spaniards 
there and drove them up the grand staircase to the roof, 
where they surrendered. There are stains still shown 
which are said to be those of blood spilt in this fight. In 
one of the halls there is a statue of the Indian hero with 
the stone on his shoulders and the torch uplifted. After 
the suppression of the revolt, Hidalgo and his lieutenants, 
Allende, Aldama and Jimenez, were executed at Chihuahua, 
when their heads were brought to Guanajuato and hung 
on hooks outside the walls of the Alhondiga. These hooks 
are still to be seen outside the old building. 

From the plaza the narrow streets wind up hill, revealing 
many artistic ''bits" that recall scenes in one of the old 
cities in southern Italy. As I strolled in this direction 
early in the morning, there came down the cobble-paved 
highway a constant procession of barefooted Indians from 
the country, and clattering burros loaded with all sorts 
of merchandise — a wonderful picture of movement and 
color. 

At the plaza I afterwards took a mule tram-car up the 
steep, winding street to the extreme end of the city, where 



360 MEXICO 

there is a beautiful little park called the Presa de la 011a, 
in the middle of which are some large reservoirs supplying 
the city with water. In this district there are some charm- 
ing houses, and here is situated the foreign colony, where a 
number of well-to-do Americans and some English, French 
and Germans have established their homes. 

I must award Guanajuato the palm for having one of the 
prettiest parks in Mexico. The Presa de la 011a is sur- 
rounded with bare, towering mountains of pinkish hue, along 
the steep sides of which narrow trails run out into the 
country. Through the centre of the park, which abounds 
in green, well-kept lawns, runs a stream which comes down 
from the upper hills, falling from one reservoir into another 
and forming little lakelets crossed by bridges. The walls 
of the reservoirs and the bridges are covered with vines and 
flowers, while the surrounding houses are completely em- 
bowered in them. Altogether it is one of the most beautiful 
spots in all Mexico. From this end of the town, which is 
perched on the top of a hill, there is a splendid view of the 
city, with its quaint churches, narrow streets and the queer 
houses on the hillsides. 

Returning to the other end of the town, I visited another 
of the sights of Guanajuato, a most grewsome one. This 
is an underground catacomb, such as is found in some 
parts of the Old World, which is situated in the Panteon or 
municipal cemetery on the outskirts of the town. Under 
a broiling sun I climbed up a steep hill in the afternoon and 
reached this burial-ground, a small square surrounded 
with a high stone wall. In the middle were a few humble 
graves with simple headstones, and some fine monuments. 
On two sides, built in the walls, were rows of vaults under 
porticos, the compartments for bodies rising in tiers. Ac- 
cording to Mexican burial customs, graves or vaults are 
leased, a certain stipulated sum being paid for the first five 



'•'THE SILVER CITY'' 361 

years with the privilege of renewal. If at the end of that 
time the mourners' grief has cooled and further payment 
is not made, the remains are taken from the vault or grave. 
If only bones remain, they are thrown into a heap at the 
end of an arch under the pavement. Sometimes, however, 
a body is preserved and mummified by the peculiar soil and 
the dry air of the climate. In that case it is wrapped in 
a shroud and placed standing in a vault with similar 
mummies. 

The gate-keeper of the Panteon acted as my guide and 
revealed to me the horrors of this underground charnel- 
house. Lifting up a flagstone in the pavement, he disclosed 
a flight of stone steps by which we descended to a large 
underground vault, lighted by some windows somewhere 
above. In one corner of the vault was an enormous pile 
of skulls and bones, and the stench was almost overpower- 
ing. At the end of the vault was a glass door. I looked 
through this and saw about forty mummies standing on 
their feet, wrapped in white shrouds. They were, until 
recently, left naked, but the authorities have now had them 
draped in this manner. In two or three instances the cloth- 
ing in which the bodies had been buried was preserved. 
These awful relics of humanity were standing in all kinds 
of attitudes, and their distorted features presented various 
grotesque expressions: the laughing lady, the weeping 
lady and the toothless old coquette with ghastly leer from 
under her thin gray hair. A scraggy gentleman with black 
beard and hair leaned against the wall, meditating on the 
vanity of flesh, while a young woman with composedly 
folded hands stood in what Delsarte would have called the 
attitude of subjective reflection with a half -suppressed 
yawn. It was a horrible and ghastly sight. It seemed 
such a terrible desecration to disinter the poor dead and 
to make them a cheap exhibition for tourists. 



362 MEXICO 

One of the ghastly company was dressed as a vaquero in 
full riding-dress of ancient pattern. I afterwards observed 
to an American acquaintance that this mummy in life might 
have been a cavaher of old Spain in pre-repubhcan days. 
''Pre-republican nothing," he retorted. ''Why, that's the 
mummy of old man Smith, the saloon-keeper who got killed 
in a fight a few years ago. His widow is still doing business 
at the old stand." It is thus that our prosaic countrymen 
destroy romance. I was glad to leave the evil-smelling 
vault, registering a vow then and there never to enter 
another catacomb. 

There are many grisly stories of adventures in the house 
of the dead. One is of an American from Texas who was 
suspected of being in the pay of the French during Maxi- 
mihan's ill-fated attempt to found an empire. He was 
caught and robbed by bandits near Guanajuato. His 
captors then decided to punish him for being a traitor to 
Mexico; and in order to bring about his death through 
horrible torture, they conceived the idea of shutting him 
up in the mummy vault, where, after some days, he was 
discovered raving mad. 

Like all Mexican cities, Guanajuato is a place of con- 
trasts. On the main street there are some very fair shops 
and several American agencies for such goods as type- 
writers and phonographs. While you are contemplating 
these evidences of progress, you hear a clatter of hoofs, 
and a train of burros comes along the street driven by 
swarthy Indians in their picturesque garb, bringing in fruit 
and vegetables, or perhaps loads of silver ore from the 
neighboring mines. But these interesting scenes will 
soon have passed away; for Guanajuato before long will 
have asphalted streets and electric tram-cars, while electric 
trains will bring in the market commodities and carry down 
the ore from the mountains. 




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''THE SILVER CITY'' 363 

The increasing number of Americans, too, cannot fail 
to have some effect on the manners and customs of the 
people. I was very much amused at overhearing a con- 
versation between the son of my hotel proprietor, who 
acted as clerk, and another youthful American. They were 
just at the age when young men devote a good deal of 
thought to the fair sex, and were discussing one of their 
friends who was very sweet on a Mexican girl. ^^Well," 
observed my young friend, the clerk, '^Mexican girls will 
wait a long time before they'll catch me playing bear out- 
side a window. If I'm not good enough to go inside the 
house, I'm not going to play the fool outside." 

''That's just what I say, and I was telling Bob the same 
thing," remarked the other young man. ''If he plays the 
bear for a girl, he ought to be ashamed of himself. That's 
a thing no decent American would ever do." Evidently, 
if the young ladies of Guanajuato wish to marry Americans, 
they will have to modify the popular Mexican bear-playing 
custom. 

As in other Mexican towns, the citizens of Guanajuato 
have abandoned their promenading in the plaza, which 
formerly gave a touch of life to the old city after dark. 
When the band played in the evening, I noticed very few 
women in the plaza, and certainly none of the higher classes. 
Plenty of Mexican men and a good many Americans were 
to be seen there. As I strolled round one evening, I passed 
a group of Americans seated together, talking rather ex- 
citedly, and at once recognized them as my old friends, 
"the men with schemes." "Yes," said one of the party, as 

I passed, "it's the biggest proposition in the whole of 

Mexico. Why, man, there's millions in it." I hurried 
away to the seclusion of a quiet, dimly hghted street — 
anywhere to escape from those omnipresent Western men 
of schemes and visionary wealth. 



364 MEXICO 

But Guanajuato is par excellence the place for schemes 
connected with precious metal, and to describe the 
place without giving a few details of the great silver- 
mining industry, which is the backbone of its prosperity, 
would be like the play of Hamlet with the melancholy Dane 
left out. For without the silver mines there would be no 
Guanajuato. 

The first important silver mining there was commenced 
by the Spaniards in 1548, when the San Bernabe vein of the 
famous La Luz mine was discovered. These mines, however, 
had been worked by the Aztecs long before the Spaniards 
came. The fame of Guanajuato as a silver-mining region 
grew apace after the first operations of the Spaniards; 
other mines were discovered, and from 1548 to the present 
time it is said that fully 1,500,000,000 dollars' worth of sil- 
ver has been produced there. It is undoubtedly the rich- 
est minerahzed district in the whole of Mexico. 

In the old Spanish times the wealthy mine-owners lived 
like princes, spending their money lavishly. Fortunes 
were constantly made and lost. Early in the last century 
two mines alone, in the La Luz district, yielded about four 
million ounces of silver every year. The stories of the 
Mexican silver kings of the past read more like Monte Cristo 
romances than the hard facts of lives actually lived. Money 
was made so fast in those days that it was impossible to 
spend it except in garnbhng, for the refinements of luxury 
on which millionaires now lavish their wealth were then 
undreamed of. 

A shrewd prospector in the early days, named Zambrano, 
discovered a mine which brought him immense wealth. 
He spent most of his time at the capitals of Europe, living 
as extravagantly as possible, squandering vast sums at the 
gaming table, but he managed to leave a snug little fortune 
of $60,000,000. One of his whims was to lay a silver pave- 



''THE SILVER CITY'' 365 

ment in front of his house, but this the authorities forbade. 
In those days, too, it must be remembered that silver was 
on a parity with gold. The Conde de Valenciana, who 
discovered one of the richest mines in Guanajuato, derived 
so much wealth from it that he is said to have got rid of 
$100,000,000 in a few years. Another silver king sent the 
king of Spain $2,000,000 as a Christmas present, and asked 
to be allowed to build galleries and portales of silver around 
his mansion. This request was refused, the Spanish au- 
thorities declaring that such magnificence was the privilege 
of royalty only. 

The Guanajuato millionaires eventually became so wildly 
extravagant that one of the viceroys prohibited their 
scattering handfuls of silver coins as they rode through the 
streets, because it increased the number of beggars in the 
city and constituted a public nuisance ! It is said that at 
the present day there is a Mexican who owns a mine of 
such wonderfully rich ore that the entrance to it is guarded 
by thick stone walls and steel doors. He is an inveterate 
gambler and when his available funds have disappeared, he 
simply hires a few miners to take out $50,000 or $100,000 
worth of silver, which is very soon lost. 

One of the famous Mexican mining kings of the present 
day is Pedro Alvarado, an Indian, known as the peon 
millionaire. A few years ago some wonderfully rich ore 
was struck in the Palmillo mine that he owned, and he 
became one of the wealthiest men in the world. Although 
he and his wife still dress in peon clothes, he has built a 
magnificent house, and being fond of music, has filled it with 
musical instruments of almost every description, including 
a n^imber of costly pianos. Alvarado is very charitable 
and recently distributed $2,000,000 among the poor of 
Mexico. He has given away several fortunes in this man- 
ner, and during the past eight years has built fifty churches 



366 MEXICO 

and a hundred schools. Not long ago he offered to pay off 
the Mexican national debt, but altered his mind when he 
found it was a little too big for even a silver king to settle. 

Until recently, when foreign capital began to develop so 
many of the Mexican mines, the processes of extracting 
gold and silver were very slow and wasteful. To-day the 
tailings of many of the old Spanish mines are being worked 
over, and the precious metal extracted at a good profit. 
A few years ago, some Americans discovered that the adobe 
bricks used in constructing some peon huts in Guanajuato 
had been made from tailings containing a large percentage 
of gold and silver. They bought the huts, tore them down 
and extracted the precious metals, clearing a large sum by 
their enterprise. 

The patio process of silver extraction, discovered by 
Bartolome de Medina in 1557, is still in use in Guanajuato, 
although it is being gradually supplanted by more improved 
methods. In this process the ore is first crushed into 
powder by great stone rollers turned by droves of mules. 
It is then conveyed to a paved court by a stream of water 
until the mass, which resembles thin mortar, is about two 
feet deep. Into this patio mud, as it is called, quicksilver 
salt and blue vitriol are thrown. A number of mules are 
then driven round it for hours at a time until everything 
is well mixed, several weeks being usually required to com- 
plete this process. The resulting mass is next deposited in 
troughs of water, where the amalgam of silver and quick- 
silver sinks to the bottom, the metals being afterwards 
separated by a method of distillation. By the patio process 
it is asserted that not more than ten per cent of silver is lost. 
Terrible suffering, however, is inflicted on the poor mules 
by the action of the vitrioKc liquid, which eats into their 
legs and soon disables them. All along the road, from 
Marfil to Guanajuato, there are large silver haciendas or 



''THE SILVER CITY'' 367 

reduction works, to which the ore from the neighboring 
mines is brought for extraction. 

Next to Guanajuato, the richest silver-mining district in 
Mexico, is in the neighborhood of Pachuca, eighty-four miles 
from the capital. This town has a population of nearly 
forty thousand, and its altitude is nearly eight thousand 
feet, even higher than Mexico City. Pachuca is a very 
windy place ; at times roasting hot, at others freezing cold, 
so that it is not exactly a health resort. It is the only town 
in Mexico where there are houses with stoves and chimneys. 
In the surrounding districts there are nearly three hundred 
mines. Silver ore was first discovered there by a poor 
shepherd nearly four hundred years ago, since which time 
the mines have been worked constantly and have yielded 
fabulous sums. One of them. La Trinidad, produced nearly 
fifty million dollars' worth of silver in ten years. There is a 
large American population in Pachuca and a good many 
Englishmen and Canadians. 

The Spaniards, in the early days, worked only the richest 
mines, thinking little of ore that did not yield at least a 
hundred ounces to the ton. Their mining operations were 
conducted in a very primitive manner. In working the 
mines, they constructed great shafts down which ran lad- 
ders, and peons brought up the ore in sacks on their backs. 
The same method is still followed in most of the mines, the 
''poor Indian" toiling up the long ladders several times 
a day without a rest, carrying a leather sack on his back, 
sometimes containing over two hundred pounds of ore. 
In the early Spanish times thousands of Indians were 
enslaved and compelled by their cruel taskmasters to work 
in the mines early and late, being flogged if they refused. 
When a mine was flooded, the peons cleared it by carrying 
up bucketfuls of water. Several rich mines which were 
abandoned in those days on account of flooding have now 



MEXICO 

been cleared out and are again in operation. Improved 
extracting processes and transportation are also making 
many old mines profitable. The trains of burros still bring 
down ore from the mines, but are being gradually sup- 
planted by tramways. 

The Spaniards, in describing the wealth of the Aztec 
land, did not mention the silver, but spoke much of the gold, 
of which all the ornaments of the chiefs were made. It is 
narrated that Montezuma gave presents of gold ornaments 
to Cortes to the value of more than seven milhon dollars. 
Where these great quantities of gold came from has never 
been discovered ; for while gold in paying amounts is found 
in many places combined with silver and other minerals, still 
the quantity mined has ever proved very small in com- 
parison with the value of the silver. It is believed that 
many of the Indians know where gold exists in enormous 
quantities in Mexico, the traditions having been handed 
down from their forefathers; but for some unaccountable 
reason they keep the whereabouts of these deposits a pro- 
found secret. 

In the land of the Tlapanecos there is said to be a gold 
deposit of fabulous richness, tradition relating that the 
Indians paid tribute to their Spanish conquerors in gold 
nuggets. All attempts to discover the source of this gold 
supply have been in vain. It is related that the Indians 
once agreed to take a Spanish priest to the place on con- 
dition that he made the journey blindfolded. The wily 
old padre consented to this, but before starting tied a small 
bag of Indian corn to his belt under his cloak, and after 
every few steps of his horse dropped a grain to the ground, 
with the object of marking the way. After travelhng some 
distance, the bandage was taken from the priest's eyes and 
he was allowed to look around, when he beheld tons of quartz 
glistening with rich yellow gold. As he stood spellbound, 



''THE SILVEM CITY'' 369 

contemplating the vast wealth that was soon to be his, an 
Indian stepped up and handed him a bag, saying : '^ Padre, 
you lost your corn on the way; but here it is, every grain." 
Thus he was never able to find his way back to this wonder- 
ful region, and the cunning Spaniards were again outwitted 
by the simple natives. 

With the introduction of railways, improved machinery 
and extracting processes, large quantities of low-grade ores 
are now being profitably worked in Mexico. Smelters and 
works for the cyanide process are being started in all the 
important mining districts, and at the present time the 
mining industry gives employment to nearly two hundred 
thousand men. Wages are still very low, the native miners 
rarely earning more than fifty cents a day, while common 
labor is paid only half that amount. In the production 
of silver, Mexico is unsurpassed by any other country, the 
annual output of the mines ranging from thirty to forty 
milHon dollars. As a gold-producing country it now holds 
the fifth place, the total output for 1908 having been 
valued at over $18,000,000. 

Among the other valuable minerals found in Mexico are 
copper, iron, lead and graphite. There are a number of rich 
copper mines in the country, and the total production for 
1908 was about 70,000 tons. There are some important 
iron deposits in northern Mexico, especially in the vicinity 
of Durango and Monterey. Lead exists in great quantities, 
and most of the graphite used in the United States comes 
from Mexico. An abundant supply of petroleum is being 
obtained in Tehuantepec and Tampico. Coal has been 
found, but only in small quantities, most of that used in 
Mexico being brought from England and the United States. 
In some of the mining districts it costs fifteen dollars per 
ton, and its high price has been a serious obstacle to the 
introduction of modern machinery requiring steam power. 
2b 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE TITIAN AT TZINTZUNTZAN 

The charm of Mexico is the variety of its scenery — 
the majestic snow-capped mountains; the rolHng prairies ; 
tropical forests jewelled with gorgeous orchids amidst 
which flutter spangled blue butterflies; rivers embowered 
in the densest shade ; fields yellowing to harvest ; and the 
steaming, miasmic marsh lands waving with green sugar- 
cane. You can see all these facets of the earth's beauty 
in a journey of twenty-four hours. 

Mexico can even rival the picturesqueness of Switzer- 
land and the Italian lakes. For at Lake Patzcuaro one has 
scenery which is not surpassed by that of Interlaken or 
Como. This lake is certainly one of the most beautifiil 
in the world. 

A railway journey of a few hours took me from Guana- 
juato to the little town of Patzcuaro on the borders of the 
lake, which is one of the most picturesque places in all 
Mexico. The town is about three miles from the station, 
and travellers journey thither in an old-fashioned stage- 
coach similar to that which runs between Atequiza and 
Chapala. I found it a dusty, jolting ride, but Patzcuaro 
proved a sufficient recompense for all the discomforts ex- 
perienced in getting there. It is a wonderful old town and, 
in some respects, is Toledo in miniature. Lining its narrow, 
crooked streets are quaint old houses, with overhanging 
eaves supported by roof rafters similar to those which 
are seen in the towns of southern Spain. Many of these 

370 



THE TITIAN AT TZINTZUNTZAN 371 

old mansions have large shady verandas overgrown with 
creeping plants and masses of bright tropical flowers. In 
some parts of the town iron chains stretched from house to 
house support wonderful old lanterns, formerly the only 
method of street lighting. Patzcuaro has some fine old 
churches dating from early Spanish times, and crumbling 
stone shrines are set in the walls at almost every street 
corner. In the middle of the town is a wide plaza shaded 
with venerable trees, and here on market nights swarms of 
Indian vendors sell their fish, fruit and vegetables by the 
light of little fires, making a scene that is wildly picturesque. 
Although seven thousand feet above sea-level, the town is so 
close to the hot lands that the market is always filled with 
tropical fruits and flowers, and the streets are thronged 
with natives in costumes of warmer altitudes. 

Viewed from the shore, the lake presents a scene of sur- 
passing beauty. It is rather narrow but of great length, 
and from its very edge rise lofty cliffs or pine-clad mountains, 
round the base of which its waters are often lost to view; 
while dotted over its surface are numerous little islands, 
on some of which are primitive Indian villages of grass- 
thatched bamboo huts. Queer flat-bottomed sailing boats, 
for freight and passengers, are navigated by Indian mariners 
on the blue waters. 

A voyage of three hours in one of these craft took me 
from the town of Patzcuaro to ancient Tzintzuntzan, now 
a straggling Indian village, but which before the Spaniards 
came was a great city and the capital of the Tarascan kings. 
In the vicinity of the place there are a number of prehistoric 
ruins. After the Conquest, Tzintzuntzan again became a 
place of importance, but in the course of time its greatness 
once more departed and it fell into decay. Bordering the 
narrow streets of the village, which run at right angles, 
are crumbling walls of stuccoed adobe, behind which are 



372 MEXICO 

the houses. Through gaping holes in the walls occasional 
glimpses can be caught of once pretentious mansions, now 
in ruins and overgrown with a tangle of vines. 

The dilapidated parish church which stands in the middle 
of the village was once the chapel of the powerful Convent 
of San Francisco, which was closed in 1740, and since then 
has gradually fallen into ruins. In the convent garden 
there are still to be seen some venerable olive trees whose 
gnarled trunks have weathered the storms of 350 years. 
Beneath the shade of some of these were buried some of the 
great dignitaries of the church and several of the chiefs who 
sided with Cortes in the days of the Spanish Conquest. The 
Indians of Tzintzuntzan are industrious folk, mostly en- 
gaged in farming and fishing, and are intensely devout. 

My principal object in visiting Tzintzuntzan was to see 
one of the most important paintings in the world, which 
hangs in the old church, and is no less than a Titian which 
was presented to the Convent of San Francisco by Philip II 
of Spain. Its authenticity is beyond dispute. The subject 
is the "Entombment of Christ." 

Escorted by the padre and the sacristan, I was led 
through the patio and along a dark corridor which ended at a 
massive door, barred, chained and padlocked. After much 
clanking of chains and creaking of rusty hinges, the key 
turned in the padlock and the door was opened. The sac- 
ristan carried a lighted taper, for the room was quite dark. 
Stepping forward, the padre pulled back the shutters from 
an unglazed window protected by iron bars, and a flood of 
sunshine revealed the picture. The coloring was mag- 
nificent, with all the superb tints for which Titian is 
famous. 

Strangely out of place the great picture looked, in the 
midst of its tawdry surroundings, gleaming from a wide 
carved white frame which had once been gilt. But its 







'■2 

8 1 



THE TITIAN AT TZINTZUNTZAN 373 

preservation is marvellous, probably due in a great measure 
to the climate and to the clear air which circulates through 
the church. Large sums of money have been offered for 
the painting, the Archbishop of Mexico, among others, 
having offered, it is said, $50,000 for it; but the devout 
Indians of Tzintzuntzan steadfastly refused to part with 
their masterpiece. They worship it with a bhnd idolatry, 
even refusing to allow it to be photographed. 

F. Hopkinson Smith, the well-known artist and author, 
visited Tzintzuntzan some years ago, when tourists were 
seldom seen in that region, and the painting was far more 
rigorously guarded than it is to-day. In his book, "A 
White Umbrella in Mexico, " he has given an interesting 
account of his expedition and a technical description of 
the famous painting, which, he says, is undoubtedly the 
work of Titian. 

In giving a brief history of the painting, Mr. Smith 
adds: '^In 1533 Charles V of Spain appointed Vasco de 
Queroga to the Bishopric of Michoacan to restore peace 
to that part of Mexico which had been almost depopulated 
through the misgovernment of the Spanish officials. Que- 
roga established his see in the church of San Francisco 
at Tzintzuntzan in 1538; he founded schools, developed 
agriculture, conciliated the natives and restored prosperity. 
When Philip II ascended the throne, the good deeds of the 
bishop reached him. During this period the royal palace 
at Madrid was filled with Titian's finest pictures. Titian 
was hving at this period, and visited Spain in 1550. Re- 
membering these dates, the religious zeal of Philip and 
his interest in the distant church, it is quite possible that 
he either ordered this very picture from the master himself 
or selected it from the royal collection. It is quite improb- 
able that the royal donor would have sent the work of 
an inferior painter or a copy by one of Titian's pupils. 



374 MEXICO 

Another distinguishing feature, and by far the most con- 
clusive, is its handhng. Without strong contrasting tones 
of color, Titian worked out a pecuhar golden mellow tone 
— divided it into innumerable small but effective shades, 
producing thereby a most complete illusion of life. This 
Titianesque quality is particularly marked in the nude body 
of the Christ, the flesh appearing to glow with a hidden 
light." 

Mr. Smith made a close inspection of the picture and 
examined it with the aid of a powerful magnifying glass. 
'^In the eagerness of my search,'' he says, '^I unconsciously 
bent forward and laid my hand on the Christ. 

" ^Ciudado ! Estrangero, es muerte' (Beware, stranger, it 
is death), came a quick, angry voice behind me. I started 
back in alarm, and noticed two Indians in the room. One 
advanced threateningly, and the other rushed out, shouting 
for the padre. In an instant the place was crowded with 
natives, clamoring wildly and pointing to me with angry 
looks and gestures. The padre arrived, breathlessly fol- 
lowed by Moon (the author's travelhng companion). 
^You have put your foot in it,' said Moon in EngHsh, in 
great agitation. ' Now, do exactly what I tell you, and 
perhaps we may get away from here with a whole skin. 
Turn your face to the picture ! ' I did so. ' Now, walk 
backwards, drop on your knees and bow three times, you 
lunatic' 

'^I had sense enough left to do this reverently and with 
some show of ceremony. Then, without moving a muscle 
of his face, and with the deepest solemnity. Moon turned to 
the padre and said to him : ' This distinguished painter is 
a true behever, holy father. His hand had lost its cunning, 
and he could no longer paint. He was told in a dream 
to journey to this place, where he would find this sacred 
treasure, upon touching which his hand would regain its 



THE TITIAN AT TZINTZUNTZAN 375 

power. See, here is the proof.' Here he pointed to a 
sketch I had made which was resting on an easel. The 
padre examined it, and repeated the miracle to the Indians 
in their own tongue. The change in their demeanor was 
instantaneous. The noise ceased; a silence fell upon the 
group and they crowded about the drawing, wonder-stricken. 
Moon bowed low to the padre, caught up the easel, pushed 
me ahead of him, — an opening was made, — • the people 
standing back humbly, and we passed through the group 
and out into the village and thence to the lake, where we 
regained our boat and set sail.'' 

From Patzcuaro I went to Queretaro, a town on the 
Mexican National Railway, which almost rivals Puebla in 
the number and size of its churches. It is a thriving place, 
with a population of forty thousand, and is rapidly coming 
to the front as a commercial centre. 

In the early Spanish days Queretaro was not only one 
of the greatest strongholds of Catholicism in Mexico but 
was also the scene of a famous miracle. One of the Indian 
chiefs baptized by the priests who accompanied Cortes 
was Fernando, Chief of the Otomites. Soon after his con- 
version he marched an army to Queretaro, then an Indian 
town, with the intention of conquering the inhabitants 
and compelling them to accept Christianity. During the 
battle which ensued, an angel is said to have appeared in 
the heavens with a fiery cross, whereupon the fighting 
ceased and the baptizing began. The old church of Santa 
Cruz marks the site of the conflict and surrender. Of 
another of the old Queretaro churches — Santa Rosa — 
Charles Dudley Warner said: '^It is one of the finest 
chapels in the world, rich in wood carving and over- 
laid with thick gold-leaf, almost gold plate. In some 
places the gold is covered with transparent tortoise- 
shell. The French, in 1866, tore down the great altar and 



376 MEXICO 

burned it to get the gold, securing, it is said, the value of 
$1,500,000." 

In 1867 Queretaro was the scene of the surrender of the 
unfortunate Emperor Maximilian and his little force of im- 
perialists to the victorious Republican army. In the old j 
convent of La Cruz, which served as the emperor's head- \ 
quarters, the formal surrender took place on May 15, 
an event which sealed the fate of the short-lived Mexican 
Empire. The Republicans, it is said, were enabled to enter 
the town through the treachery of Colonel Lopez, Maxi- 
milian's chief-of -staff, who received a bribe of twenty 
thousand pesos. 

Under the title of '^Fernando Maximiliano of Hapsburg, 
Archduke of Austria," the emperor was summoned to 
appear before a court-martial on charges of filibustering 
and treason. He refused to attend, but his two generals, 
Miramon and Mejia, who were indicted on the same charges, 
were present during the proceedings. Although ably de- 
fended, the emperor and his generals were found guilty 
and sentenced to be shot the next day, but were granted a 
reprieve for five days. All appeals for mercy, including 
one from the United States government, were in vain, 
President Juarez firmly refusing to interfere. 

On the morning of June 19 the three victims were taken 
to the Cerro de los Campanas, a hill near the town, and 
placed against a low wall . An officer with seven riflemen — 
the firing squad — were stationed a short distance away. I 
Maximihan went up to the soldiers, shook hands with them 
and gave to each a gold coin. He then said, '^Aim well, 
muchachos " (boys), and pointing to his heart, added, ''Aim 
right here." Returning to his place, he addressed a few 
words to the soldiers, expressing the hope that his blood 
might be the last shed in the Mexican civil war. He then 
shouted, ''Viva Independencia, viva Mexico." Miramon 



THE TITIAN AT TZINTZUNTZAN 377 

and Mejia cried, ''Viva Mexico, viva el Emperador." The 
command to fire was then given, and the Mexican Empire 
came to an end. The two generals fell at the first volley, 
but it required a second volley before the emperor was dead. 
He had requested that he should be shot on the body, so that 
his mother might look upon his face. His body was in- 
terred in the old convent of the Capuchins, but was after- 
wards taken to Austria and buried at Miramar. 

In 1869, with the permission of President Diaz, admirers 
of Maximilian erected a chapelle expiatoire on the spot 
where the execution took place, the project having been 
approved by the House of Hapsburg. Diplomatic rela- 
tions between Austria and Mexico were then resumed. 
The beautiful little chapel of white stone has three slabs 
near the altar marking the positions occupied by Maxi- 
milian and the two generals at their execution. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 

When President Diaz, in 1905, formally opened the 
Tehuantepec National Railway, he gave official recognition 
to one of the most wonderful enterprises that the world 
has witnessed in recent years. This railway, a magnificent 
piece of engineering, runs across the Isthmus of Tehuan- 
tepec from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, and is now do- 
ing on an important scale what it is intended the Panama 
Canal shall eventually do, to a larger extent, in transporting 
freight between the two oceans. 

From the early days of the Spanish Conquest the Isthmus 
of Tehuantepec was recognized as an important highway 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Situated at the extreme 
southern boundary of Mexico, the Isthmus, with the ex- 
ception of Panama, is the narrowest neck of land on the 
American continent. Cortes, it is said, conceived the idea 
of building a canal across it ; but as this was not feasible, 
a carriage road was constructed by the Spaniards. En- 
gineers in later times recommended this route for a canal 
in preference to Panama, the distance in a straight line 
being only one hundred and twenty-five miles from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific. 

When the Panama project under French management 
proved a failure. President Diaz, with his customary fore- 
sight, proposed a railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
the idea being to unload vessels on the Atlantic or Pacific 
side and take the cargoes across the Isthmus for reshipment. 

378 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 379 

The plan was formally carried out, and the railway was 
completed in 1894. When opened to traffic, however, it 
proved to be imperfect, so in 1899 the Mexican government 
entered into an agreement with the English firm of S. 
Pearson & Sons, whereby they and the government were to 
be joint owners of the railway for fifty-one years and to 
share the net earnings. Although the construction was 
extremely difficult, owing to the nature of the country 
traversed by the line, which included some deep canons, 
numerous rocky cuttings and miles of swampy land, the 
work was eventually finished, and the line, which is one 
hundred and ninety miles in length, was opened to traffic. 
The work was well done, and to-day the railway is one of 
the best in Mexico and excellently managed. It is also 
one of the few railways in the world which uses oil for fuel. 

Fine harbors have been constructed at the ports of 
Salina Cruz on the Pacific, and Puerto Mexico, formerly 
called Coatzacoalcos, on the Atlantic coast, large warehouses 
having also been erected for the storage of freight. At 
both places the trains run right up to the ships' sides, where 
there are various modern devices for unloading cargoes 
quickly ^nd economically and transferring them to the 
railway cars or vice versa. At Salina Cruz one of the 
finest dry-docks in the world is being built. 

The Tehuantepec route will not only benefit Mexico by 
building up its ports on the two coasts but is already prov- 
ing of great importance to international trade. A large 
amount of traffic which formerly went round Cape Horn 
or across the Panama Railway is now going via Tehuan- 
tepec. Another important fact is that this route is twelve 
hundred miles shorter between New York and San Fran- 
cisco than the Panama Canal route. The average freight 
steamer would require four or five days to cover this dis- 
tance, the expenses of the vessel for that period and the 



380 MEXICO 

tolls for passing through the canal representing a far greater 
outlay than the charges incurred by the Tehuantepec route. 
It will probably be possible for the average cargo to be 
unloaded and carried across the Isthmus and reloaded in 
two dayS; and considering the amount of labor involved, 
the charges are reasonably low. 

Tehuantepec is not only a much shorter route to the 
Pacific ports of the United States but to the Orient and 
Austraha as well. American commercial interests are 
already recognizing this, and are using it extensively for 
the shipment of freight between the Atlantic and Pacific. 
A contract has recently been entered into with the Ameri- 
can-Hawaiian Steamship Company for the carrying of sugar 
from Hawaii to New York via Tehuantepec, these great 
sugar cargoes having formerly gone round Cape Horn. The 
distance from Hawaii to New York via Tehuantepec is only 
5305 miles, while by Cape Horn it is over 12,000. 

It is a long journey from Mexico City to Tehuantepec, 
but it is one that is well worth taking, for the route is 
through those wonderful '^hot lands" bordering the coast, 
the veritable heart of the tropics. To reach Tehuantepec 
from the capital, one has to take the Mexican Railway to 
Cordoba, a distance of one hundred and ninety eight miles, 
where connection is made with the Vera Cruz and Pacific 
Railroad, which runs two hundi^ed and two miles to Santa 
Lucrezia in the extreme southern end of Mexico. 

One evening at the beginning of March I started from 
the capital for Tehuantepec, travelling to Cordoba in a 
comfortable Pullman sleeping-car, and arriving there early 
the next morning, with ample time to catch the train for 
Santa Lucrezia, which left at nine o'clock. This train, 
which was the most comfortable one that I had thus far 
seen in Mexico, included Pullman sleeping- and drawing- 
room cars, and a well-arranged restaurant. In the sleeping 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 381 

compartments the berths were specially designed for service 
in the tropics, and were provided with mosquito netting, 
an important requisite in the insect-infested ''hot lands." 

The railway journey from Cordoba southward is full of 
interest, the line running for nearly fifty miles through 
plantations of sugar-cane, coffee, bananas, oranges, pine- 
apples and other tropical and semitropical fruits. Then 
comes a long stretch of fine grazing and agricultural lands, 
with wide prairies, where can be seen the picturesque Mexi- 
can cowboys or vaqueros mounted on swift ponies with 
heavy saddles and cruel bits, carrying the ever present 
lasso. There are many villages along the line but no cities. 
At Tierra Blanca, fifty-seven miles from Cordoba, there 
is a branch line to Vera Cruz; and at Los Narajos the rail- 
way crosses the Papaloapam River, the bridge and its ap- 
proaches being over a mile long, the largest in Mexico. 
Passing through a dense jungle for several miles, the line 
again enters a prairie country, which continues for another 
fifty miles. 

At San Marcos (one hundred and fifty seven miles) the 
prairie gives place to jungle and swamps, which in turn are 
replaced by a dense tropical forest, largely unexplored, of 
giant mahogany, ebony, dyewood and rosewood trees, 
palms of all varieties, medicinal woods, vines, plants and 
flowers. It is aHve with chattering monkeys, green par- 
rots and flocks of other gaudily colored birds seen only in 
the tropics. This is indeed the forest primeval, vast and 
impenetrable! Coifing about the tree-trunks like green 
great snakes are creepers and other parasites, which hang 
from the boughs and replant themselves in the moist 
earth. Among these are growing a variety of beautiful 
orchids, while forming a dense undergrowth is a tangled 
mass of wonderful ferns and flowering plants. In these 
dense woods there lurks the fierce jaguar, called by the 



382 MEXICO 

Mexicans the tigre, and in their sombre depths crawl the 
python and other tropical snakes. 

This district would seem to promise a happy hunting- 
ground for the sportsman, who could stalk the jaguar and 
puma or the great river-hog, the tapir, floundering in its 
marshy haunts, or bring down a good-sized deer or a fierce 
wild bull ; or spear the ever game peccary. Birds — quail 
and plover on the prairies, pheasants and turkeys in the 
forest — are there in plenty. But so great are the diffi- 
culties of traversing these tropical forests and so terribly 
unhealthy are they that for the most part they are virgin 
ground as far as sport is concerned. The Indians alone can 
enjoy the chase in such solitudes ; and for the greater part 
of the year they live upon the game which is so plentiful 
and the wild fruits with which the woodlands abound. 

From Cordoba to Santa Lucrezia the railway runs through 
the ^^hot lands" again. Here are seen the hot-land habi- 
tations, constructed of bamboo and light poles and thatched 
with palm-leaves, affording shade from the sun, but allowing 
the air to circulate freely; for the only shelter needed is 
protection ' from the rains. In this part of the country 
there are none of the imposing stone buildings found in 
the temperate regions of Mexico, and there are very few 
towns of any size. The tropical villages are not unHke 
those in central Africa. They swarm with naked babies, 
and boys and girls past childhood almost as simply clad. 
The population in the hot country is much smaller than 
that of the temperate zones, though it could easily support 
an immense number of inhabitants. So wonderfully rich 
is the soil that all kinds of tropical fruits, coffee, tobacco, 
the vanilla bean and many drug-producing plants grow 
luxuriantly. A large number of India rubber plantations 
have been started of late years, and bid fair to make a 
great success. 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 383 

But farming in the hot lands requires a great amount 
of capital, and to be successful it must be conducted on a 
big scale, with a large force of laborers. The land can be 
bought cheaply enough, but that is only the preliminary 
expense, for it has to be cleared and planted; and as a 
rule it is only after years of careful cultivation that profit- 
able returns can be obtained from such things as rubber, 
coffee and cacao. Conducted by experienced men with 
sufficient capital, however, coffee and banana culture are 
proving extremely profitable in Mexico, and some large 
fortunes are being made. Everything considered, there 
are few richer countries in the world than these lands in 
southern Mexico, in the States of Vera Cruz, Campeche 
and Tabasco. With forests yielding mahogany and nu- 
merous other valuable woods, with a prolific soil and a won- 
derful climate, making it possible in some cases to raise 
three crops in a single year, these hot lands must have a 
marvellous future. 

The dense forests and numerous swamps of the hot lands 
would not seem to make this part of Mexico a very in- 
viting place in which to live; but strange to say, these 
tropical regions are not so very unhealthful, if a careful 
system of living is followed. Intemperance in eating and 
drinking has, of course, to be avoided, and fevers and 
malaria are certain to result from exposure to rains or the 
intense heat of the midday sun. 

We reached Santa Lucrezia at half -past nine in the 
evening. It is only a small village, with one wretched 
hotel. Fortunately, passengers are not obliged to pass a 
night there but can remain comfortably asleep in the Pull- 
man car.^ 

The day had been baking hot, and even summer clothing 

^ The trains now run direct to Salina Cruz, the service of late 
having been much improved. 



384 MEXICO 

seemed unbearable, but at night the air was dehciously 
cool. Swarms of mosquitoes and other insect pests buzzed 
outside the car, some managing to jfind their way inside, 
but safely behind the mosquito curtains we could ignore 
them. Poets who rave about the ^'stilly night " could never 
have visited the tropics of Mexico. There is no stilly night 
there. From the neighboring woods came the incessant 
croaking of frogs and the loud buzzing, whistling and chirp- 
ing of innumerable insects, — a combined volley of sound 
not unhke that made by a cotton mill at high pressure. 
Strangely enough, nearly all these noises cease in the 
daytime. 

Near Santa Lucrezia are many plantations of tropical 
fruits, coffee, cacao and rubber. Some groves of cultivated 
rubber contain from one hundred thousand to one million 
trees. Of the fifteen hundred species of rubber plants and 
trees which exist, very few are found in Mexico. A tree 
known as castilloa elastica, which is indigenous to the soil, 
gives the best results and is chiefly grown in the plantations. 
It begins to yield rubber when six or seven years old, but 
the growers rarely tap it until it has reached the age of 
nine or ten. 

In extracting the caoutchouc or rubber, one or two V- 
shaped incisions are cut in the trunk, penetrating the bark, 
but not so deeply as to reach the wood of the tree, and al- 
ways leaving behind some of the cambium or growing layer 
of the stem, so that the wound may rapidly heal and the 
tree eventually be suitable for tapping again. As soon as 
the cuts are made, the milk-white latex begins to flow and 
is caught in a galvanized-iron cup placed at the base of the 
trunk. As much as half a pint of this fluid may run into 
the cup, after which the flow ceases. Tree-tapping is usu- 
ally carried out once a year, either in October, November 
or December, and each tree usually lasts twenty-five years. 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 385 

producing one pound of rubber per annum when ten years 
old. The latex, after being collected, is deposited in 
barrels of water mixed with the juice of a wild vine or con- 
volvulus {ipomcea bona nox) which hastens coagulation 
and transforms it into a spongy white mass — the crude 
rubber of commerce. 

Over $25,000,000 has been invested in Mexican rubber 
plantations, but very few of them have ever yielded satis- 
factory dividends. In some instances this has been due 
to incompetent management, coupled with the difficulty of 
getting the proper kind of labor. Under the most satis- 
factory conditions, however, it is doubtful whether Mexico 
will ever be able to compete with Brazil, the Malay Pen- 
insula or Ceylon, or even with Central America as a rub- 
ber-producing country. 

The growth of Indian corn in these hot lands of Mexico 
is marvellous, attaining as it does a height of fifteen to 
eighteen feet, with ears that will mature within sixty days 
from planting. Similarly, sugar-cane in ten months will 
have stalks twenty feet high and ten inches in circum- 
ference. Bananas make a growth of twenty feet in a few 
months. There are about twenty varieties, and when 
properly cultivated, each stalk usually bears from seventy- 
five to one hundred pounds of fruit. On some plantations, 
where the plants are set about twelve feet apart, each acre 
of land will produce from six hundred to nine hundred large 
bunches a year. Under these favorable conditions, banana- 
growing is proving wonderfully profitable. The growth of 
fruit trees is just as wonderful. Peach trees two years old 
attain a height of twelve feet and bear fruit ; oranges bear 
at four years of age.* The soil is rich, indeed practically 
inexhaustible; the climate is summer all the year round, 
and the rainfall is from one hundred to two hundred 
inches per annum. With these advantages, tropical agricul- 

2c 



386 MEXICO 

ture is certainly destined to become one of the greatest 
wealth-producers on the American continent. 

After spending the night at Santa Lucrezia, our train was 
switched to the Tehuantepec National Railway the next 
morning, and went on to Salina Cruz, which was reached 
in the afternoon. At Rincon Antonio, a small place on 
the way, which is the highest point on the line, the railway 
company's general offices, workshops and hospital have been 
estabhshed. The climate here is pleasant and salubrious, 
the heat being tempered by the winds that are constantly 
blowing across the isthmus. 

The workshops at Rincon Antonio are equipped with 
the most modern machinery and appliances for every 
possible repair to the rolling-stock and engines in use on the 
line. Here, as at Sahna Cruz and Puerto Mexico, all the 
machinery is driven by electricity generated by a steam 
plant, crude oil being used for fuel. As at all other places 
where Messrs. Pearson have large works, every care has 
been taken here to make life as agreeable and homehke as 
possible for managers and employees. Comfortable modern 
houses have been erected for the various heads of depart- 
ments, while the subordinate employees are lodged in ex- 
cellent staff houses. A club-house has been built and 
quarters provided for a Catholic chapel and a masonic 
lodge. Special attention has been given to a pure and 
abundant water-supply. The general officers of the rail- 
way and the head men at the ports of Salina Cruz and 
Puerto Mexico are Enghshmen and Americans, the latter 
being in the majority. 

From Santa Lucrezia to the Pacific coast the line is fairly 
level, passing through a succession of dense forests, among 
low, rocky hills, across wide swamps and skirting some good 
grazing lands. The soil here, as in other parts of the 
Mexican tropics, is wonderfully fertile, and the growth of 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 387 

vegetation is marvellous. This bountiful aspect of nature 
constitutes, in fact, one of the many difficulties which con- 
front the managers of the railway. So rapid is the growth 
of the wild plants along the fine that, if left to themselves, 
they would soon overgrow the track. Laborers have to be 
constantly employed in cutting down these rapid growths, 
and the expenditure on this amounts to a large sum in 
the course of the year. 

I was surprised to find Salina Cruz so remarkably pro- 
gressive and up-to-date, with smart new buildings, modern 
houses and a comfortable hotel. When the railway was 
first started, the site of the present town was occupied by 
a squalid Indian village. A new town has since been laid 
out, in accordance with modern ideas and sanitary prin- 
ciples, the dwellings being erected on higher and more 
healthy ground. The port is destined to become one of 
the most important on the Pacific coast, and is an interesting 
example of the progress that is taking place in this remote 
part of Mexico. At the back of the town is a range of hills 
which furnish some protection against the northers which 
occasionally blow from the Atlantic side of the Isthmus. 
One of the features of the harbor is a massive stone break- 
water nearly a mile in length and a dock fifty acres in 
extent. In former days, owing to the numerous sand-bars 
and the shallowness of the water, large vessels were unable 
to enter the port, and there was no protection against the 
stormy seas which occasionally sweep along the Pacific 
coast. Ample protection is now afforded by the great 
breakwater, and as the result of recent improvements the 
harbor now has a draught of over thirty-five feet at low 
tide. 

Salina Cruz is becoming a very busy place. In the har- 
bor, at the time of my arrival, were two large American 
steamers discharging cargoes of sugar for transportation 



388 MEXICO 

across the Isthmus, while an EngHsh ''tramp" was taking 
on a quantity of freight which had come across the Atlantic. 
Three lines of steamers touch at this port, the Kosmos Line 
(German) running between Hamburg and Pacific coast 
points of Mexico, Central, South and North America; 
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company (American) whose 
vessels call at the principal Mexican Pacific coast ports; 
and the new Canadian hne from Vancouver. By the 
Kosmos line one can travel from Salina Cruz to various 
ports in South America, — in Chili, Peru and the Argentine, 
— and many travellers from the United States who wish 
to avoid a long sea journey to the Pacific coast of South 
America are now going by this route. 

The wonderful improvements made at Sahna Cruz have 
been repeated on a similar scale at Puerto Mexico on the 
Atlantic side of the Isthmus, where the old town has been 
thoroughly renovated and put in good sanitary condition. 
Some pestilential swamps which made the place a hot-bed 
of yellow fever have been almost entirely filled in, and the 
terrible scourge is now practically obhterated. The town 
is situated at the mouth of a river of the same name, which 
is navigable for seventy miles. Great stone jetties have 
been constructed in the harbor, insuring an ample depth 
of water; extensive wharves have been built, and some 
good business buildings erected. Puerto Mexico is rapidly 
becoming a place of importance; two lines of steamers 
are now making regular calls there, and others are arrang- 
ing to make it a port of entry. 

Enormous sums have been expended in rebuilding the 
Tehuantepec Railway and in carrying out the improve- 
ments at the two ports. It is estimated that since the 
work was begun the sum of $50,000,000 has been ex- 
pended, and before the harbor works are perfected about 
$5,000,000 more will have to be disbursed. In addition 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 389 

to this, $10,000,000 has been appropriated by the Mexican 
government, making a total expenditure on the railway 
and ports of about 165,000,000. 

The opening up of the country, which has resulted from 
the successful operation of the Tehuantepec Railway, is 
Hkely to be followed by further important developments 
in southern Mexico. In the course of a few years it is 
quite possible that a hne will be built to Tehuantepec from 
Oaxaca, less than one hundred and fifty miles distant, 
thus tapping one of the richest parts of the country ; an- 
other line may possibly be built in an easterly direction 
through the States of Campeche and Yucatan. Merida, the 
capital of the latter State, is a busy city, with a popula- 
tion of over a hundred thousand, and is only a few miles 
from Progreso on the Gulf of Mexico, the nearest port to 
Havana and New York. 

One of the great projects of American statesmen has 
been a Pan-American railway or direct railway route from 
the United States to the southernmost republics of South 
America. At various conferences between representatives 
of the United States and the South American republics 
this matter has been fully discussed. It is not generally 
known that the idea is being gradually carried out. At 
San Geronimo, on the Tehuantepec Railway, there is a 
branch line called the Pan-American Railroad which runs 
along the Pacific coast to Tapachula on the borders of 
Guatemala. This line is to be gradually extended through 
Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama 
to South America, where it will connect with the lines al- 
ready in operation there. While at present this is rather 
a visionary prospect, still the world is moving rapidly, and 
not so many years hence it may perhaps be possible to take 
a train in New York for Chili and Peru via Mexico and 
Central America. 



390 MEXICO 

The Pan-American line already built has opened up 
the rich coffee lands in the State of Chiapas, and is gradually 
developing several new ports along the Pacific coast. The 
railway was built by an American company subsidized by 
the Mexican government. The completion of the line to 
Guatemala will probably tend to render that little republic 
more peaceful by bringing it under the civiHzing influences 
of Mexico. 

There is fine scenery along the Pan-American Railroad, 
some of the mountain peaks in that part of the country 
rising from eight to nine thousand feet. Near Tomala, 
and some eight miles from the hne, are the remains of an 
ancient city, with temples and fortresses of cut stone, in the 
midst of an almost impenetrable forest. The whole State 
of Chiapas, through which the line runs, is filled with these 
prehistoric relics. Greatest of all the ruins are those of the 
city of Palenque, its wonderful temples and palaces being 
overgrown by the luxuriant tropical woodlands. There is 
an Indian tradition that Palenque covered an area of sixty 
miles ; but the American traveller, J. L. Stephens, proved 
this to be a ridiculous exaggeration. The city was about 
two miles round. Several archaeologists who have visited 
Palenque since Stephens have fully confirmed his estimate. 

Before leaving the Isthmus, I visited the city of Tehuan- 
tepec, a short trip by railway from Salina Cruz. It is a 
queer, straggling, ramshackle sort of place, with a popula- 
tion of some twenty thousand. Although it is always hot 
and sunny there, the heat is generally tempered by a good 
breeze blowing from the Pacific. It rains but seldom. 
Most of the low, one-story buildings in the town show the 
effects of earthquakes, which are not infrequent. As in 
all the Mexican tropical lands, none of the buildings have 
the solid, imposing appearance of those to be seen in the 
temperate zones. 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEIIUANTEPEG 391 

Until the railway was opened, Tehuantepec was shut 
off from the outside world, strangers seldom going there. 
For this reason many quaint customs and costumes still 
survive, unaltered by the prosaic march of progress. The 
natives belong to the Zapotec tribe of Indians, and are 
remarkably clean. Groups of them are constantly bathing 
in the broad river which runs through the town, and they 
do not seem to share the strong antipathy for soap found 
elsewhere among Mexican Indians. The clothing of both 
sexes is generally immaculate. These Indians are very 
closely akin to the cleanly Mayas of Yucatan, and are 
believed by some authorities to be one of the remnants of 
the Mayan race which probably once held all Mexico before 
the wild, fighting tribes of Aztec type broke in from the 
north, driving them southward to Yucatan and Guatemala. 

Nothing else betrays so quickly the social condition of 
a race as the status of its womankind. The difference 
between the Zapotec women and their uncomely, unkempt 
sisters of northern Mexico is almost the difference between 
savagery and civilization. A Tehuantepec woman is a be- 
ing who has rights and can enforce them. In the market- 
place women conduct most of the business, as in France, 
while the poor, henpecked men keep in the background. 
The women usually hold the family purse, and it is even 
impossible for a man to get credit unless his wife vouches 
for him. They are not only shrewder and brighter but 
more intelligent than the men, whose position is manifestly 
inferior. Under these circumstances, Tehuantepec would 
be a blissful abiding place for the suffragettes. 

Of the docihty of the men I saw a most amusing instance 
during my visit. I stopped in the market-place to buy 
some fruit at one of the stands, which was presided over 
by a buxom young woman with keen dark eyes. She was 
gossiping energetically with a neighbor, while her husband 



392 MEXICO 

was seated near by placidly smoking a cigarette. Catching 
sight of me, the comely Zapoteca called out sharply, " Pedro, 
Pedro, attend to the senor." Pedro, a big, burly fellow, 
came forward rather sheepishly and supphed my wants, 
while his wife kept an Argus eye on him. He was about 
to pocket the money I handed to him, but Mrs. Pedro was 
ready for the emergency. '' Pedro," she remarked severely, 
'^I want that cash," and the lambhke Pedro surrendered it 
without a word of protest. He noticed my amused ex- 
pression, however, and when his better half was not looking, 
returned a covert smile which seemed to say, ^^I'm only 
doing this for fun; I'm not really henpecked." 

The Zapotec women are famous for their beauty, clean- 
liness and their devotion to their homes. They are copper- 
colored, with smooth, coarse black hair, small brown eyes, 
aquiline features and fine white teeth, the face being char- 
acterized by a gentle, pleasant expression. They are rather 
short, well-proportioned and possess a natural grace of 
carriage, probably because of their habit of bearing loads 
on their heads. Besides being the housekeepers, they 
weave cloth, mats, baskets and hammocks. Their cos- 
tume is very quaint and attractive. They wear a little 
jacket with extremely short sleeves, sometimes richly em- 
broidered and cut rather low at the neck; then comes a 
short upper skirt, generally of soft linen or cotton material, 
and from the knees downward a second skirt of embroidery 
or thick lace starched very stiffly. The jacket and upper 
skirt are generally some shade of red or blue. They have 
a pecuhar head-dress of coarse lace, which is arranged in 
several ways. On festive occasions they wind it round 
their necks so that it spreads out something hke a sixteenth- 
century ruff; while for church wear it is worn somewhat 
in the fashion of a French fishwife's cap. 

The wealthy ladies of Tehuantepec do not wear diamonds, 



THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 393 

but adorn themselves with necklaces of gold coins, usually 
the large five, ten or twenty dollar gold pieces of the United 
States. English, French and German coins are sometimes 
worn, but are not considered so fashionable. The women 
save all their money to buy these gold pieces, which, when 
worn by them, present a rather beautiful appearance. 
Their wealth and social standing are indicated by the 
amount of gold they wear, and some members of the Te- 
huantepec smart set are said to possess necklaces worth 
fifteen hundred dollars and more. Even when arrayed in 
all this finery, very few of the Tehuantepec women ever 
wear shoes, most of the poor going barefooted and the 
better class finding sandals more comfortable. 

These gentle, orderly Zapotecs might well serve as models 
for Mexicans farther north. They live quiet, peaceful 
lives, enjoying the simplest diversions, their clean, tem- 
perate habits producing the health, happiness and lon- 
gevity which characterize them. Quarrels are rare, and 
murder is unknown. They are extremely kind to animals, 
and the burro or ox which serves the Zapotec is treated 
as a pet. Bull or cock fights are not held because public 
opinion is strongly against cruelty in any form. These 
people are passionately fond of music, and the concerts 
of their local band would do credit to any city. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

TARPON FISHING AT TAMPICO j 

Although the streams and rivers of Mexico have Httle 
to tempt the angler, the Gulf coast has become famous the 
world over as the place of places for tarpon fishing. This 
wonderful fish, which sometimes attains a weight of over 
two hundred pounds, and is as gamy as a brook trout, is 
found in its perfection in the waters round Tampico, and 
the delights of the sport have brought fishermen there 
from all parts of the world. 

Tampico, which has become almost synonymous with 
tarpon, is about three hundred miles north of Vera Cruz ; 
and it was to Tampico in quest of tarpon that I journeyed 
after my visit to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

From the Isthmus I returned direct to Vera Cruz, which, 
on this occasion, fully merited its reputation as a city of the 
tropics. Instead of the gloomy weather and depressing 
'^norther" which I had encountered on my arrival some 
four months before, there was a cloudless sky, the sun was 
blazing with tropical intensity and people who walked the 
streets all kept to the shady sides. The principal streets 
had already been asphalted, and the work on others was 
proceeding rapidly. When I first landed, there were no 
carriages to be seen, owing to the bad paving, but now I 
noticed several as I strolled through the town ; and before 
I had been in the place half an hour I saw two automobiles 
whizzing along the main street. The old mule-cars were 
still running, but electric wires were being installed for 

394 



TARPON FISHING AT TAMPIGO 395 

the new American electric cars. Wonderful indeed is the 
march, or I should say the rush, of progress in modern 
Mexico. 

There is no railway between Vera Cruz and Tampico, 
and as the country along the coast is very swampy and 
there are no important towns there, it would be very ex- 
pensive to build a line. But some day a railway is certain 
to be built between the two places. At the present time 
the only way to get from Vera Cruz to Tampico by railway 
is to return to Mexico City and make a detour of several 
hundred miles. For this reason travellers have to go by 
steamer. There are two lines running between the two 
ports — the Hamburg American and the Mexican Steam- 
ship hnes. The German liners are splendid vessels, several 
of the large Atlantic steamers being used for the Mexican 
service during the winter months. These steamers run 
from Bremen, Havre and Plymouth to Havana and thence 
to Vera Cruz and Tampico, returning to Europe by the 
same route. 

I had to wait three days at Vera Cruz for the Kron- 
prinzessin Cecilie, on which I booked my passage to Tampico, 
but managed to pass the time very pleasantly. The Hotel 
Diligencia, where I found comfortable quarters, was a 
typical Mexican hotel, facing the plaza, with a large, open, 
tiled dining-room through which the breezes circulated re- 
freshingly in the hot daytime. In the shade it was quite 
comfortable, no matter how baking hot it might be in the 
sun. Under the clear blue sky Vera Cruz was completely 
changed; the soft-tinted houses, the palm trees and the 
flowers in the plaza were all transformed into things of 
beauty, proving how essential is the bright sun to life in 
the tropics. 

Having three days to spare before the steamer left for 
Tampico, I took a trip to the famous city of Jalapa (pro- 



396 MEXICO 

nounced Hahlappa), eighty-two miles from Vera Cruz, on 
the Inter-oceanic branch of the Mexican National Railway. 
It is situated at about the same altitude as Orizaba, but 
in point of picturesqueness far excels that city. Like 
Orizaba, however, it hes at the foot of lofty mountains 
which encircle it, the great snow-covered peak of Orizaba 
being visible on clear days. The women of Jalapa, many 
of whom are quite fair, are famed for their beauty, and 
judging by the many attractive faces I saw in a short walk, 
it would seem this reputation is well deserved. The Mexi- 
cans, in fact, have a saying that Jalapa is a part of heaven 
let down to earth, and the proverb "Las Jalapenas son 
lalguenas" (Bewitching, alluring are the women of Jalapa). 

A less pleasing characteristic of the town are its frequent 
days of mist and rain, a very serious drawback to the en- 
joyment of its great loveliness, which has given rise to an- 
other saying in Jalapa. During these melancholy days, 
the Jalapeno, muffled in his sarape, dismally mutters, "Ave 
Maria purisima, que venga el sol" (Holy Virgin, let the 
sun shine). 

Jalapa means "a place of water and sand.'^ It was an 
Indian town at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and, be- 
cause of its position on what for a long time was the main 
road between Vera Cruz and Mexico City, early became a 
place of importance. After the establishment of the Re- 
pubHc, it was made the capital of the State of Vera Cruz. 
The medicinal plant from which that nauseous old family 
medicine, jalap, is extracted is grown all around Jalapa. 

The city is curious and old-fashioned, with houses of 
crumbhng stucco; their red-tiled roofs project over the 
eaves so far that they seem to cover the sidewalks like a 
shade, and extending from these are the spouts to carry the 
rainfall from the roofs to the centre of the street. Jalapa 
has an abundant supply of water and a perfect drainage 



TARPON FISHING AT TAMPICO 397 

system. Its streets slope gently to the middle of the road- 
way, thus forming deep troughs or gutters, and all refuse 
is soon washed beyond the city limits by the frequent 
rains. This probably accounts for the scrupulously clean 
appearance of the place. So steep are the streets that carts 
or carriages cannot be used for the transportation of goods 
or persons, all the carrying being done by cargadores or 
pack-mules. A car runs from the railway station through 
part of the main thoroughfare, and is the only wheeled 
vehicle found in Jalapa, but even this requires six mules 
to haul it up the steep grades. 

There is a very pretty plaza in the centre of the town, 
and some fine old churches, notably the cathedral, which was 
founded in the sixteenth century, and the Church of San 
Francisco, built in 1555. These and other sights may be 
enjoyed by the visitor to Jalapa, and when the weather 
is clear, a day may be delightfully spent in and about the 
little city. But perhaps the most interesting sight of all 
is to be witnessed in the cool of the evening, when the fair 
Jalapenas stroll in the plaza to listen to the band, their 
dark, flashing eyes reminding the susceptible Jalapenos of 
the truth of their local proverb. 

Upon my return to Vera Cruz from Jalapa, the weather 
was still clear and warm, and I looked forward with pleasure 
to my trip up the coast. The Kronprinzessin Cecilie was 
advertised to sail for Tampico at six in the evening, the 
journey taking about sixteen hours. When I went down 
to the steamer, about four o'clock, I was greatly impressed 
with German enterprise. A large crowd had assembled 
on the wharf, listening to a brass band stationed on the 
promenade deck, which was playing '' Die WachtamRhein,'' 
the German ensign was flying from the steamer's foremast ; 
and it was all Hke a little piece of Germany dropped down in 
'Mexico. From the remarks of the Mexicans which I over- 



398 MEXICO 

heard, they evidently seemed to think that Germany, next 
to Mexico, must be the greatest country in the world. 

I had not been aboard the ship many minutes before I 
noticed a sudden change in the weather ; some dark clouds 
onthe horizon increased and spread with wonderful rapidity ; 
before long, the sky began to take on an ominous leaden 
tinge, and the sun's rays shone only at intervals through 
the drifting clouds. The breeze, which had been quite light, 
began to in;jrease in force, and the sea, which had been as 
smooth as glass, was very soon covered with whitecaps. 
I heard cries of ''Norte" everywhere. Some fishing boats 
came dashing into the harbor for safety, with the spray 
flying over them; a steam launch followed them, cutting 
through the rolHng waves. Before two hours had passed, 
the surf was breaking over the jetties and another norther 
was full upon us. The captain of the steamer did not con- 
sider it safe to venture outside that night, and saihng was 
delayed until seven the next morning. All the way up the 
coast we had this head-wind, and despite the luxury of the 
steamer, those passengers who were not good sailors did not 
find it exactly a voyage of pleasure. 

For all dangers and discomforts I found ample recom- 
pense on my arrival at Tampico. This important port lies 
at the mouth of the Panuco River, a magnificent water- 
way, in which the greatest fleet could find ample harbor 
room. Tampico, with a population of one himdred and 
sixty-three thousand, is, in fact, becoming the chief port 
of Mexico, even surpassing Vera Cruz; and with its 
safe harbor and deep water, the largest vessels can 
lie alongside the wharves to receive and discharge cargo, 
Over four hundred ocean steamers call at Tampico monthly, 
regular liners plying between New York, Mobile, New 
Orleans, Galveston, Havana and European ports, and the 
southern seaport cities of the Mexican Gulf coast. At a" 



TARPON FISHING AT TAMPICO 399 

cost of over |3;000,000 a fine new custom-house has been 
built; and also a great wharf at which five large steamers can 
lie at the same time. The harbor is always full of shipping, 
presenting quite a hvely and busy scene. The docks are 
situated some little distance up the river, and back of these 
is the city, a large part of which stands on a high bluff, 
rising to a height of nearly fifty feet. 

While its appearance is very different from that of 
other Mexican cities, Tampico is an attractive-looking place. 
The houses usually have sloping roofs, are tinted in many 
colors and have wooden verandas along the fronts of each 
story. On the river front is a picturesque market-place, 
with tents and numerous white umbrellas beneath which the 
vendors gather; near this is the main plaza, from which 
tram-cars run to all parts of the city. 

The rivers which join the sea at Tampico are navigable 
by small boats for a long distance into the interior, and 
pass through some fine tropical scenery. Over five thou- 
sand boats, varying in length from twenty to sixty feet, 
are kept on the Tameso and Panuco rivers to bring to 
Tampico the wild and cultivated products of the country. 
Almost every conceivable form of tropical plant and fruit 
may be found in their cargoes, as well as native-made earthen- 
ware and other manufactured articles. The Panuco River 
is about eighteen hundred feet wide at Tampico, and has 
an average breadth of eight hundred feet for several miles 
from its mouth. Some distance below the city are the 
jetties which form the harbor where the river flows into 
the sea ; and here is La Barra, a village with a fine sandy 
beach on which the surf rolls invitingly. During the day- 
time the place is usually thronged with bathers. 

Tarpon, however, was the sole object of my visit to 
Tampico. Many angling enthusiasts travel thither each 
season to fight the monstrous fish, all of whom make their 



400 MEXICO 

headquarters at the Southern Hotel, the proprietor of which 
is a jovial American, Colonel Poindexter. Among the 
fishermen who come to Tampico are various American mil- 
lionaires and many of the English and French nobility, 
the register of the Southern Hotel containing names that 
are well known in social circles the world over. Mine host, 
the Colonel, is himself a :een angler, and looks after his 
fellow-devotees of the roc and reel. For the sum of four 
dollars a day he provides hem with all the necessary fish- 
ing-tackle, and a boat with an experienced native to row 
and assist in the sport. 

Conducted in this way, tarpon fishing is not an expensive 
sport, and what is more, if the angler has ordinary good 
luck, he rarely leaves Tampico without landing one of these 
big fishes. Very different was the experience of a friend of 
mine, a wealthy English angler, who once spent several 
weeks on the gulf coast of Florida in quest of tarpon, which 
is popularly known there as the '^ silver king." He chartered 
two small yachts to provide quarters for himself and the 
members of his fishing party, while a small steam tug was 
also engaged for work on the fishing grounds. In addition 
to the crews, a staff of skilled fishermen were employed to 
aid in tracking the wily '^silver king" to his watery lair. 
After cruising up and down the coast for nearly six weeks 
without seeing a tarpon, the chase was abandoned in disgust. 
This could never have happened at Tampico, in whose 
waters there are tarpon in plenty. 

For a day after my arrival the '' norther " blew on, and 
then the weather became fine and calm again. Under these 
auspicious circumstances I made a start one morning in 
search of tarpon, making my cruise in a boat made from the 
trunk of a ceiba tree. It was about twenty feet long and 
twenty inches wide, painted blue outside and green within, 
and was manned by an Indian paddler who sat in front, while 



TARPON FISHING AT TAMPICO 401 

I took my seat amidships. I had a strong rod with a stout 
reel, while my line was braided linen, about six hundred 
feet long, of which four hundred and fifty feet was kept 
coiled inside the canoe as slack in case something took the 
hook, for not only tarpon but great jewfish, shark and curel 
(a large species of pike, weighing as much as sixty pounds) 
are plentiful in the river. 

The tarpon has a thick, bom jaw, and when it takes the 
bait, the angler must give his liii a strong, quick jerk, other- 
wise the fish is hable to get away. As soon as the bait is 
taken, the tarpon, rushing to the surface of the water with 
lightning rapidity, makes a high leap in the air. Unless the 
hook is driven well into the jaw, he will shake it out of his 
mouth, and again, if the line is held too tight, he is certain 
to snap it. To catch a tarpon, therefore, needs some skill 
as well as strength. As a well-known anghng writer has 
very correctly said : '^ Tarpon fishing is the pitting of a man- 
sized fish against an angler whose rod and line seem utterly 
inadequate for the fight. It is the taking of a seven-foot 
giant with a slender thread, and this in a fight that may 
wear away an afternoon, the whole combat being accom- 
panied by a series of thrilling leaps." 

We went up the river with the tide to the south bank, and 
at first the fish did not bite. Along the bank I noticed 
extensive pastures where large herds of cattle were fatten- 
ing for shipment to Cuba and Yucatan. These cattle come 
from the Para grass pastures of southeastern Mexico in the 
State of TamauHpas (in which Tampico is situated) and the 
states of Vera Cruz and San Luis Potosi. Between sixty 
and eighty thousand head pass through Tampico every year. 

Chatting with my Indian boatman, I almost forgot that 
I was fishing, when suddenly my float disappeared. I in- 
stantly gave a sharp jerk and threw out some slack. The 
next moment my line was pulled almost tight, and about 

2d 



402 MEXICO 

a hundred feet away a large silvery fish leaped in the air. 
He appeared to be about seven feet long, and seemed to 
jump twice his length out of the water. It was a tarpon, 
king of game fishes. Amidst a cloud of spray up in the air 
he went again, his silver scales glistening with rainbow hues 
in the rays of the sun. Then followed a succession of leaps, 
none of them alike, while the head of the great fish shook 
angrily from side to side in his ineffectual efforts to cast 
out the hook. He disappeared and sulked for a time 
beneath the water, and then came another series of rushes 
and leaps, the combat taking over an hour. A half hour 
passed before he was tired out and I pulled him to the side 
of the boat for the Indian to gaff. On landing him, I found 
that he was only of medium size, weighing about one hun- 
dred pounds. He did not look nearly so big as when he was 
leaping and plunging. 

Tarpon have been caught at Tampico weighing over two 
hundred pounds, and measuring over seven feet in length, 
and it has taken hours to land them. The average catches, 
however, range from four and a half to six and a half feet 
long and from seventy to one hundred and seventy pounds. 
One fish for a day is generally considered good sport, and 
has usually to be paid for by several days of tired muscles. 
The sport is not unattended with danger; for when a big 
fish has not been properly gaffed, he is sometimes stirred 
into fresh activity, lashing out with his tail with a force 
strong enough to stave in a canoe. His cutting jaws can 
also inflict ugly wounds. A well-known American angler, 
while fishing for tarpon off the Florida coast, hooked a mon- 
ster weighing considerably over a hundred pounds. Dur- 
ing the combat the great fish made a leap which landed him 
with a crash on the angler's back, inflicting injuries which 
nearly killed the unfortunate fisherman, laying him up for 
nearly two years. The only disappointing feature of tarpon 



TARPOJSr FISHING AT TAMPICO 403 

fishing is that the dead fish is of no value whatever, the 
flesh being flavorless and rarely eaten. Occasionally some 
angUng enthusiast has his big fish stuffed and mounted; 
the silvery scales, which measure about four inches in width, 
are also sometimes kept as souvenirs. 

Going down to the jetties the next day, I fished with 
one line in the river and another in the sea, catching about 
twenty pounds of fish of all kinds and sizes, some of them 
quite gamy, especially the pargito, a fish weighing from 
one to five pounds, of dark color above and white below, 
somewhat resembhng a bass and making a good fight when 
hooked. 

The fisheries at Tampico are the finest in the Gulf of 
Mexico, presenting admirable opportunities for the estab- 
hshment of canning factories to supply the Mexican market^ 
which now depends on Europe and the United States. 
As the fish are very abundant, and the harbor improvements 
make the banks easy of access in all weathers, this industry 
could be carried on during the entire year, and at the 
present time almost without a competitor in Mexico. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

IN NORTHERN MEXICO 

That part of Mexico which extends southward for three 
or four hundred miles from the border of the United States 
has very little resemblance to the semi-tropical regions 
still farther south or to the ''hot lands" along the coast. 
It is largely a vast plateau, with great plains devoted to 
grazing purposes and providing pasturage for hundreds 
of thousands of cattle. It is in the northern states of 
Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango that the greatest estates 
in the country are situated, one multi-millionaire in Chihua- 
hua having a vast property of seventeen million acres. 
The traveller can roam for days, crossing mountains, 
valleys and plains without leaving this princely domain. 
On some of these estates there are private railways, with 
railway stations and numerous villages. In this region 
are great ranches, employing hundreds of cowboys and pre- 
senting phases of life fully as picturesque as the once famous 
American wild West. 

As my visit to Mexico was now drawing to a close, and 
I had thus far confined my travels to southern Mexico, I 
decided to return to New York by train, and on the way 
through the great central plateau to stop at one or two 
points and see something of the country. With this object 
in view, I left Tampico one morning bound for San Luis 
Potosi, about two hundred and fifty miles distant. The 
branch of the Mexican Central Railway which connects the 
two cities is noted for its scenic attractions, the views 

404 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 405 

along the way rivalling those on the Mexican Railway 
between Vera Cruz and the capital. 

Leaving the coast and running westward, the line crosses 
a series of great sloping plains, extending for nearly a 
hundred miles, which are well adapted for grazing purposes. 
They are covered with a coarse, luxuriant grass known as 
Para, which is ever green and is a great fattener of cattle. 
Numerous streams are crossed, for the country is unusually 
well watered. Coffee, oranges, bananas, limes, ginger and 
other tropical fruits and plants grow luxuriantly through- 
out this region, and the climate is dehghtful. 

Mounting upwards from the foot-hills, the Hne reaches 
the mountains and eventually attains an altitude of over 
six thousand feet ; the scenery is superb, especially m the 
so-called Abre de Caballeros. Here the train runs along 
the side of a lofty mountain beneath the shadow of great 
cliffs which tower far above, while below is a deep, rocky 
canon. From a neighboring mountain-side leaps a marvel- 
lous and beautifully colored waterfall, pouring down in one 
cascade after another until there are a score or more, some 
over a hundred feet in height and one fully three hundred 
feet, making together a chain of nearly a mile in length. 
All around are towering mountain peaks. The combined 
effects of water, land and sky are wonderfully grand. 

Farther on from this point there are more wonderful 
views and magnificent distances as the line curves, turns 
and twists upwards among the mountains : at one point, 
six curves of the track are in sight, while twelve hundred 
feet below are the luxuriant tropical valleys, with here and 
there bright green fields of sugar-cane and fruits. The 
line winds along a shelf hewn in the side of the almost 
perpendicular cliffs, around curves, through a succession 
of tunnels, then through the wild San Ysidro Valley, the 
mountain-sides of which are densely wooded. It then 



406 MEXICO 

emerges on the sloping plain of the table-land where, at an 
altitude of 6116 feet, is situated the city of San Luis Potosi. 

Twenty years ago this old town, which was founded in 
1566, was but Httle known to the outside world; but since 
the advent of the railways it has become a thriving com- 
mercial place. Situated in a fertile valley, it is surrounded 
by mountains rich in mineral wealth, especially silver and 
copper, the San Pedro mines near the city being among 
the most productive in Mexico. The city, in fact, derives 
its name from its supposed resemblance to Potosi in Peru, a 
famous silver-mining place. It is a bright, clean, attractive 
town, with handsome streets which vividly recall those of 
Seville, and abounds in fine old churches, rich in native 
decorative art. Among the public buildings are the library 
and museum, the mint and the state capitol, San Luis 
Potosi being the chief city of the State of the same name. 
With good hotels and theatres, public baths and lines of 
electric cars, the city shows every sign of progress, and has 
attracted a large number of foreigners who have settled 
there to engage in business. It is distinguished by a general 
appearance of neatness, which is largely due to a local law 
compelling the citizens to keep their dwellings in presentable 
condition, and prevents their becoming careless. During 
my stay in the city, I visited one or two of the large factories 
there, the machinery of which is operated by electrical 
power, one of these estabhshments, which is devoted to the 
manufacture of ready-made clothing, having all the latest 
appliances. In the workrooms the cutting, sewing, press- 
ing and even the attaching of buttons is all done by ma- 
chines driven by electrical power. 

The country around San Luis Potosi is wonderfully 
productive, and this has done much to increase the city's 
prosperity. On the great haciendas throughout the State 
are grown a variety of crops, including wheat, barley, sugar- 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 407 

cane, cotton and tobacco ; there are also a large number of 
ranches, the country being exceptionally well adapted for 
cattle. 

From this flourishing district I made a journey of one 
hundred and fifty miles on the Mexican Central Railway 
to the picturesque old town of Aguas Calientes or Hot 
Springs, a popular health resort. It is a quaint, sleepy 
place, with a population of thirty-eight thousand, and is 
situated at an altitude of six thousand feet, the climate 
being dehghtful. There are several good hotels in the town, 
which are generally well filled, as visitors flock to the 
springs from all parts of Mexico. In cases of rheumatism 
and similar diseases the waters of Aguas Cahentes are said 
to effect remarkable cures. At the springs the old bath- 
houses have been strangely named after the apostles, the 
figure of one of the sacred twelve being placed over each 
door, with figures indicating the temperature of the water 
within. The town is famed for its pottery, the Aguas 
Calientes ware; and sarapes are manufactured there in great 
quantities. Until recently the town was also noted for its 
drawn-work, which was the principal occupation of the 
feminine population, the finest linen being drawn in the 
most beautiful and complicated designs. One beautiful 
drawn-work costume, which was made in the town and 
intended for exhibition, took nine years to complete, three 
hundred expert needlewomen being employed on it. It 
is without seams, of exquisite design, and is valued at 12000. 
Drawn-work, however, will soon be a thing of the past in 
Aguas Cahentes, as the women now find work in factories 
or other occupations which yield better wages. At the 
present time a great deal of imitation drawn- work is actually 
imported from Germany and sold to unsuspecting tourists 
as the work of native needlewomen. Even the gorgeous 
Mexican sarapes, I was told, are not all manufactured in 



408 MEXICO 

Aguas Calientes by patient Indian workmen, but many of 
them, sad to relate, are ''made in Germany." 

From Aguas Calientes the Mexican Central Railway runs 
northward through the states of Durango and Chihuahua 
to El Paso in Texas, a large, enterprising town which has 
become an important railway centre. From there Cali- 
fornia can be reached by direct train via New Mexico and 
Arizona. There are also connecting lines there which 
take the traveller to other parts of the United States. 

Some remarkable developments are being made in this 
northern part of Mexico ; and the rapidity with which the 
whole country is being transformed is only realized when 
one has actually been there. Lying so close to the United 
States, northern Mexico has naturally attracted large 
numbers of Americans who are setthng there and engaging 
in mining, farming and various other branches of business. 
New mines are being constantly opened, factories are spring- 
ing up and railways are being extended in all directions. 
This rush of progress has had a noticeable effect on the old 
cities of the north, notably Durango, Chihuahua and Za- 
catecas, which are being rapidly modernized. Each of 
these cities has from thirty to forty thousand inhabitants, 
and all of them are built in the same substantial manner, 
with large business houses and fine public buildings. Before 
the railways came they were sleepy, out-of-the-world places, 
seldom heard of; to-day, like San Luis Potosi and other 
towns, they have shaken off their lethargy, suddenly be- 
come busy places and are steadily increasing in size and 
importance. 

Zacatecas is one of the most important silver-mining 
centres in Mexico ; since the metal was first mined there, 
in 1546, the mines have produced an amount estimated at 
over $700,000,000. The present annual output is about 
$3,000,000. 



I 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 409 

Durango might be called the Pittsburg of Mexico, as it 
is the centre of an important iron industry. The smoky 
atmosphere and dingy back streets of Pittsburg, however, 
are happily non-existent, for Durango is a picturesque city, 
with fine, clear, mountain air. Near the city is a mountain 
of iron ore, averaging from seventy-five to ninety per cent 
of pure metal, almost soHd iron ! A cavaUer in Cortes' 
time, one Senor Mercado, heard a wonderful story of a 
mountain of silver, and visited the present site of Durango, 
where it was supposed to be. To his intense disgust he 
found nothing but iron. His memory has been perpetuated 
by the name of the mountain, which is called Cerro Mer- 
cado. In the neighborhood there are a few silver mines, 
but iron is king. Durango, by the way, is over seven 
hundred miles from Mexico City, which gives some idea 
of the magnificent distances of Mexico. 

One of the most important railway enterprises which has 
been carried out in northern Mexico is the building of the 
Kansas City, Mexican and Orient Railway, which is now 
approaching completion. This railway, which is the first 
direct line to cross the frontier between the United States 
and Mexico, will extend from Kansas City to the Bay of 
Topolobampo on the Mexican Pacific coast, a distance of 
1659 miles. It runs through the states of Chihuahua 
and Sinaloa, opening up a magnificent country of immense 
area, rich in mineral and agricultural resources, and offer- 
ing tempting inducements to settlers with small capital. 
Topolobampo is one of the most beautiful harbors in the 
world, having a great resemblance to the famous Bay of 
Rio Janeiro. The railway will connect there with steamers 
for the Orient, several lines having arranged to make the 
port a place of call ; and in a few years this place, which ' 
has been named Port Stillwell, will become one of the 
busiest towns on the coast. Mr. Arthur E . Stillwell, who 



410 MEXICO 

conceived the idea of this wonderful railway, has carried it 
out with remarkable energy, having enlisted in the enterprise 
a large amount of British, French and American capital. ^ 

Agriculture is making great progress in the northern 
states of Mexico, irrigation having been introduced very 
extensively, with wonderful results. To encourage this 
system of agriculture, the Mexican government has re- 
cently appropriated $10,000,000 to assist the owners of 
irrigated lands in making further improvements. The 
import duties on agricultural implements, cattle for breed- 
ing purposes, etc., will also be removed for a term of years 
for their benefit, while the export duties on the products 
of irrigated lands will also be taken off. Mexican lands, 
except those along the coast, are largely dependent upon 
irrigation, and by this system millions of acres of land here- 
tofore unproductive are now producing enormous crops. 
Wherever irrigation is introduced, the seemingly worthless 
soil at once becomes wonderfully fertile. 

Cotton growing is also an important industry in this 
part of the country, and a number of mills are in successful 
operation. Great quantities of wheat are grown in Chihua- 
hua, the crop averaging about 1,500,000 bushels a year. 
Sheep farming is about to be undertaken in this State by 
an English company, which has recently purchased a tract 
of land fifty miles square. This is to be stocked with sheep 
from Australia, and by breeding and interbreeding with 
the best native stock, it is believed that a breed of sheep can 
be developed in Mexico which will equal any in the world. 
Several Australian sheep experts have been engaged for this 
great ranch. Sheep farming in Mexico has thus far been 
conducted in a very haphazard way, and the country has 
never been regarded as suitable for this industry. The work 
of the English company is therefore being watched with 
a great deal of interest. 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 411 

In the extreme northwest of Mexico, beyond Durango 
and Chihuahua, is the rich agricultural and mining State 
of Sonora, which borders the Pacific Ocean. It is the second 
largest State in the Republic, but for some years it has 
continued in a condition of panic-stricken stagnation owing 
to the Yaqui Indians, who to the number of about five 
thousand have been carrying on a campaign of revenge 
against the whites. Mines are shut down and industries 
neglected, while the haciendas are fortified, and no white 
dare venture far from the towns or cuartels, the points 
where the troops are concentrated. Some idea may be 
formed of the interests involved in this struggle by the fact 
that at the banks of Guaymas and other Sonora towns 
there are securities representing over $50,000,000 of Ameri- 
can capital which has been sunk in the Yaqui district of 
Sonora and is now, for the time at least, dead money. 

There seems to be some doubt as to whether the Yaquis 
are the bloodthirsty savages their would-be Mexican masters 
like to paint them, or whether, in the language of Senor de 
Zayas Enriques, a well-known Mexican who has espoused 
their cause, they are a race of heroes. Probably the truth 
is somewhere between the two views. Of their bravery 
there can be no doubt. Wonderful stories are told of it. 
One Yaqui chief pursued by rurales — the Mexican country 
soldiers — from the vantage post of a rock, picked off his 
enemies one by one, till, surrounded, he had to face a 
mounted officer who rode at him with uplifted sabre. He 
parried the blow with his knife, and vaulting on the horse's 
back, pinioned the arms of the officer and spurred the horse 
to a precipice near. There the horse balked, but the Ya- 
qui plunged his knife into its flank and the animal, with 
its two riders — the Yaqui crying out in triumph, the officer 
with terror — were hurled to death on the rocks below. 

So much for their bravery. As for their savagery, it 



412 MEXICO 

is a fact that they have waylaid many harmless persons — 
Americans, for the most part — and killed them all, in- 
cluding women and children. There are also many cases of 
alleged brutality against them. Some of their own tribe, un- 
willing to take up arms against the Mexicans, were treated, 
so it is reported, in a way so horrible that the Yaquis must, 
if it be true, forfeit everyone's sympathy. The soles of 
their feet were cut off, their eyes gouged out, and they were 
dragged out into a waterless prairie and left to die. From 
such atrocities it might be supposed that the Yaquis are 
like the Apaches and other bloodthirsty North American 
redskins of former times, wearing feathers and painting 
their faces. The Yaquis, however, while somewhat darker, 
are not unhke the other Mexican Indians; they have 
always been an agricultural people, and to-day most of 
them dress in the ordinary peon costume. When left to 
themselves, they till their little farms and are quiet and in- 
dustrious. Most of them speak Spanish as well as the Yaqui 
dialect. 

The story of Yaqui discontent dates back to the Conquest. 
At that time the tribe numbered, it is related, three hundred 
thousand. They never submitted to Cortes, and thereafter 
a guerilla warfare existed in Sonora, broken by more serious 
uprisings, such as those in 1735 and 1825. In 1832 they 
successfully opposed any Mexican interference with their 
tribal rights, and until 1848 were left in supreme control 
of their lands round the Yaqui River. In that year war 
broke out again, lasting until 1897, when a truce was called 
and a treaty finally concluded. But in less than a year, 
owing, it is said, to the wrongful diversion of an irrigation 
stream by a Mexican landowner, the Yaquis flew to arms, 
and now hold the district by a system of terrorism. The 
country is covered with brush from ten to fifteen feet high, 
through which are trails known only to the Indians. They 



IN NORTHEBN MEXICO 413 

are all good shots, and while they never ride, can cover on 
foot as much as seventy-five miles a day. So keen is their 
system of scouting that the clumsy, ill-drilled Mexican 
soldiers, recruited mostly from the jails, have no chance; 
and in hand-to-hand fighting the government troops have 
so far always come off second best. 

An almost incredible condition of affairs exists at the 
present time as the result of the Yaqui warfare. Bands 
of these bloodthirsty natives are constantly prowling about 
the country and making attacks where least expected. An 
instance of this occurred two or three years ago at the little 
town of Toledo, when the mayor gave a modest banquet, 
the entertainment being held on the flat roof of his house, 
according to the custom in that warm country. The roof, 
being illuminated, offered an easy mark for some Yaquis 
who happened to be lurking in the mountain overlooking 
the town. In the midst of the festivities bullets suddenly 
rained among the guests, killing four persons, including 
the mayor's wife and daughter. Several of the survivors 
were wounded as they hastily retreated. Similar outrages 
have occurred elsewhere. Even at Hermosillo, the capital 
of Sonora, a beautiful and progressive city, it is unsafe to 
venture many miles away. Not long ago, it is said, a 
party of Americans, while motoring near the town, were 
fired upon by some Yaquis concealed in the bush, and barely 
escaped with their lives. Hermosillo is in the centre of 
a rich mining region, and in the mountains near the town 
are a number of mines of gold, silver and copper. The soil 
in this part of the country is wonderfully fertile, great 
quantities of oranges, wheat, maize, cotton, sugar-cane and 
tobacco being grown. Mining and agriculture, however, 
have been seriously retarded by the constant dread of the 
Yaquis. 

Short shrift is usually given to the Yaqui marauders 



414 MEXICO 

when caught red-handed by the Mexican soldiers. With- 
out the semblance of a trial, a dozen or more will sometimes 
be stood in a line and shot down ; sometimes they are hanged 
to trees, and their bodies left dangling by the roadside as 
a warning to their surviving comrades. Deportations of 
large numbers of inoffensive Yaquis to the swamps of Yu- 
catan are also being carried out ; and the Mexican govern- 
ment continues to wage a merciless war of extermination. 

It was almost the end of March when I returned to San 
Luis Potosi to resume my journey northwards, my desti- 
nation being the city of Monterey, two hundred and nine 
miles distant. The Mexican National Railway by which I 
travelled runs some comfortable trains direct to St. Louis, 
via Monterey and Laredo, the distance being about 1553 
miles and the journey occupying a little over four days. 
The train which I took, one morning, the Mexico City-St. 
Louis Express, had left the capital the day before, and was 
composed exclusively of Pullman cars. 

From the railway the country is not seen at, its best, but 
for some miles beyond San Luis Potosi the line runs through 
a succession of fields and gardens planted with semitropi- 
cal fruits and vegetables kept green by irrigation. In this 
fertile region there is a great estate through which the rail- 
way passes, and a brief view is obtained of the picturesque 
hacienda building of white stone, which looks like a walled 
fortress, surrounded with tropical gardens, bright with flow- 
ers. Near by two white church towers peep above a little 
village belonging to the estate, which is owned by the Frias 
family and is one of the finest in Mexico. Over a thousand 
people are employed on it. For nearly seventy miles the 
train ran through the great rolling plain, strewn with cactus 
and occasionally relieved by long stretches of cultivated 
land, and then reached the town of Catorce. Near the 
railway station at this place there is a stone monument 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 415 

inscribed, ''Tropic of Cancer/' the country south of the 
monument being within that zone. Passing this imaginary 
line brought no perceptible difference in the weather, which 
continued as warm as ever, with the usual amount of dust 
in the air. Catorce is Spanish for '' fourteen/' the town 
taking its name from a band of fourteen desperados who 
in ancient times had a fortress there, and levied tribute 
on the inhabitants of the surrounding country. From 
San Luis Potosi there is a gradual descent from the table- 
land, and at Catorce the hne leaving the plains winds be- 
tween the mountains, still continuing the descent. 

The next important town is Saltillo, the capital of the 
State of Coahuila. Near it was fought the battle of Buena 
Vista between the Mexicans and the Americans in February, 
1847, when the Mexican army was totally defeated. It is 
a favorite resort for well-to-do Mexicans, and during July 
and August life there has been described by a local American 
scribe as ''a veritable whirl of parties, balls, concerts and 
burro excursions.'' Standing high up in the mountains 
at an altitude of 5249 feet, the town has one of the finest 
summer climates in Mexico. Saltillo is not only a health 
resort, but it has become an important manufacturing place, 
several large smelters, rubber factories and flour mills 
having been started there. It has some fine streets, good 
shops, and a magnificent club-house which contains the 
largest ball-room in Mexico. 

From Saltillo southwards there is a succession of barren, 
sun-baked mountains, rocky cafions and arid valleys, dotted 
with cactus, but almost destitute of trees, though occasion- 
ally there is a green, irrigated patch of vegetation. It is 
a desolate country ; for miles and miles scarcely a town or 
village is passed. Occasionally at small stations there are 
a few adobe huts where blanketed peons and some lean 
goats are visible, but otherwise there is little sign of life. 



416 MEXICO 

It is a melancholy country, and is rather depressing to 
the spirits. It seemed to have had an especially bad effect 
on two Americans who took seats near me in the smoking 
compartment, whither I had adjourned to try the efficacy of 
a good cigar in warding off the blues. They were strangers, 
but soon struck up an acquaintance. One of them, a dark, 
plump, rather Jewish-looking young man, with smoothly 
shaven face, had every appearance of being a ''drummer." 
His companion was a long, lean, angular Westerner, evi- 
dently a farmer, with a scrubby gray beard which he stroked 
ruminatingly with one hand, while in the other he held 
a big, black, un lighted cigar, which he chewed vigorously 
from time to time. 

''Well, sir," remarked the drummer, "we shall soon be 
seeing the last of Mexico, and getting back again into God's 
country. AVell, I rather reckon they'll never see yours 
truly in Mexico again for the rest of his natural life." " You 
ain't done well, then," observed the Westerner. "Well?" 
retorted the other. "Why, I've hardly got the backbone 
to face my people in Chicago. I haven't even covered 
my expense account." "What's your line, partner?" 
asked the lean man, with some show of interest. "I'm 
travelhng for a soap house," rephed the drummer, with a 
deep groan. 

The farmer gave a vindictive bite to the end of his cigar. 
"Well, well," he remarked, after a short silence, "I reckon 
we're both in the same boat, neighbor, when it comes to 
losing money." Here, to my horror, he actually produced 
a small piece of silver ore from his pocket. Surely, thought 
I, this cannot be another "man with a scheme." Is there 
no escaping them ? But as I hstened I heard a very differ- 
ent story from that which I expected. "Well, sir," con- 
tinued the rural tourist, "that little chunk of metal cost 
me a pretty pile of money. I got it about two years ago 






IN NOETHEBN MEXICO 417 

from a fellow that came from down Guanajuato way and 
was a-visiting in our district. He talked me into putting 
up two thousand good American dollars to work a hole in 
the hills somewhere, that he swore was chock full of silver. 
We was both a-going to be miUionaires in a few months. 
Well, I ain't never seen one cent back. Finally, I got 
tired o' waiting, and came down to Guanajuato to see if 
anything was coming out o' that hole." ''What did you 
find in it?" asked the drummer. '' Wal," dryly repHed the 
man from the West, ''I jest found that there wasn't even 
a hole. I've been a-trying ever since to lay my hands on 
that silver king; and, by gum, if I ever meet him, he won't 
work no more holes nor any more skin games neither." 
With this the two travellers relapsed into silence ; both of 
them had painful memories of Mexico. How often during 
my travels had I encountered the ''man with the scheme," 
but how Kttle had I imagined that I should ever gaze upon 
one of his victims. 

Later in the day, after winding for miles between the bar- 
ren mountains, the train at last reached the large and im- 
portant city of Monterey, situated in a beautiful valley at 
an altitude of fifteen hundred feet, and having a much bet- 
ter cHmate than many places farther south. Outside the 
station was the now famihar street-car with its two mules, 
still undisplaced by electrical traction, and the usual num- 
ber of coches. One of the latter took me to a hotel in the 
middle of the town, which is nearly a mile from the railway, 
passing along some dusty roads lined with shed-like dwell- 
ings of tinted stucco, which give a stranger a very unfavor- 
able first impression of the city. From this unattractive 
highway there was a sudden transition into the town itself, 
where there were good, substantial . business buildings in 
the somewhat narrow streets, some smart shops and here 
and there a fine old Spanish church. 

2e 



418 MEXICO 

Monterey has a population of over sixty thousand, and 
being so close to the United States is becoming rapidly 
Americanized. Large numbers of Americans are living in 
and around the city, and a great deal of American and 
Canadian capital has been invested there. In strolling 
about the streets, I noticed signs of Americanization every- 
where, the stores, for instance, having their announce- 
ments in English as well as Spanish; and at some of the 
street corners boys were selling a bright, well-edited Amer- 
ican daily newspaper, the Monterey News. The city is the 
capital of the State of Nuevo Leon, and was founded in 
1560. Of late years it has become an important manu- 
facturing place; there are large iron mines not far dis- 
tant, and half a dozen large smelters are in operation, 
where lead and silver are extracted from other ores. On 
the outskirts of the city are several big breweries, which 
manufacture the popular Monterey lager beer. As an 
offset to the beer, the city also does a large business in 
mineral water, which comes from the Topo Chico springs 
a few miles out ; this has a great medicinal reputation and 
is sold all over the country. 

Monterey is famous for having been the scene of an im- 
portant battle in our war with Mexico in 1846, when, after a 
desperate, stubbornly disputed conflict lasting several days. 
General Taylor defeated a large force of Mexicans under 
General Ampudia. The old palace of the bishops of Mon- 
terey, now a picturesque ruin, standing on a hill near the 
town, was fortified by the Mexicans, and was the scene of 
fierce fighting. During the assault of the city the contest 
raged in the streets, the Mexican soldiers occupying the 
houses and shooting down the Americans from the windows 
and roofs. 

While I was in the city, I accepted an invitation to ac- 
company an American friend on a visit to one of the large 



31 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 419 

ranches in the State of Coahuila, in which part of the coun- 
try some of the largest Mexican estates are situated. Some 
of the ranches there have an area of two or three hundred 
miles and are over seventy miles wide. Much of the coun- 
try is an undulating plain, with a sandy soil, covered with 
scrubby bushes, coarse grass and cactus. 

A hot, dusty railway journey, which consumed the greater 
part of a day, took us to a small wayside station, where a 
peon awaited us with two horses. A ride of several miles 
brought us to the ranch. We spent the night at the ranch 
house, a small building of stuccoed adobe, which served 
as the headquarters of the manager of the estate. Early 
the next morning, after a good breakfast prepared by the 
Mexican cook, we again mounted our horses, and guided by 
one of the cowboys, an American, we rode about fifteen 
miles across the plain to a camp where a round-up was 
to take place. 

Once a year every ranch has its round-up, when the 
cattle are collected and the unmarked yearlings or calves 
of a year old are branded, the work usually taking about a 
fortnight. During this interval the cowboys scour the range, 
gathering the bunches of cattle together and driving them 
towards one central point, where there is a huge stockade or 
corral. Towards the end of the drive there are oftentimes 
exciting scenes, many of the wilder animals galloping off 
and being brought back after a long chase. Occasionally 
a bull turns and charges on one of the cowboys, but although 
a horse is sometimes killed, the rider usually escapes. At 
night, too, a herd will sometimes stampede through fright 
and run for miles, some of the animals being killed in the 
mad flight. 

On the way to the camp I chatted with our companion, 
the cowboy, a picturesque-looking fellow who wore a big 
straw sombrerO; a blue shirt, a bright red handkerchief 



420 MEXICO 

about his neck, while his legs were encased in skin-tight 
leather trousers, a protection against the thorns which 
abound in the low scrub. Around his waist was a well- 
filled cartridge belt holding a big revolver. It was a glo- 
rious morning, with a clear blue sky overhead and a mild 
though invigorating breeze was blowing over the great plain, 
which stretched for miles to a sky-line of rugged mountains. 

''This is a great country," I remarked, but our cow- 
puncher was vigorously chewing a piece of plug tobacco 
and did not reply immediately. He then remarked: 
"Good enough for them that hkes it, but I prefer God's 
country for mine." 

''You would rather be back in Texas," I observed. 
"That's about it. Colonel," was the reply, "there's no for- 
tune for a ranch hand in this part of the world." He then 
went on to tell me that, like many another young American, 
he had drifted down into Mexico in search of adventure, 
had got stranded, and had been obliged to take the first 
thing that offered in the shape of work. Cowboys on Mex- 
ican ranches, so he informed me, were supplied with a horse 
and saddle, paid five dollars a month and provided with 
food and lodging. In Texas he had earned about thirty dol- 
lars a month and his board. He was now practically a pris- 
oner, as it was hard to save money, and Texas was a long 
way off. It was therefore not surprising that he sighed 
for God's country. Aside from his scanty wages, however, 
he found no fault with the work, having always done hard 
manual labor. I gathered from him that it was different 
with a good many young Americans of the better class, and 
quite a few young Englishmen who became stranded in 
Mexico and found themselves in the same position that he 
was in. "These tenderfeet come down here," he remarked, 
"expecting to find a sort of Wild West Show. Perhaps 
it's all very funny at first, but that soon wears off, and they 



IN NOBTHEBN MEXICO 421 

find that ranching is a pretty hard life. We start work 
before sun-up and keep going until dark, and when a fellow 
has been riding miles over the range, chasing cattle all day, 
all he feels fit for at night is to eat his grub and turn in." 

When we arrived at the camp, a large herd of cattle 
had just been driven into the corral by a party of cowboys 
or vaqueros, most of them swarthy Mexicans, with much 
shouting and yelling, the place being enveloped in clouds 
of dust. On holidays and other special occasions some of 
these vaqueros appear in gorgeous trappings on which all 
their savings are spent. Their jackets, sombreros and sad- 
dle blankets are heavily laced with gold tinsel, and they 
wear high boots and leather accoutrements of the finest 
quality. Wonderful feats of horsemanship and lassoing are 
exhibited by some of them. 

After the cattle had been corralled, the calves or yearhngs 
were separated from the herd and driven into a smaller 
enclosure, where several men were stationed with long 
branding-irons bearing the mark of the ranch. These were 
made almost red-hot in a blazing fire. One after another 
the yearlings were dexterously lassoed, thrown down and 
then held by two of the vaqueros, sometimes only after a 
hard struggle. The branding iron was immediately apphed, 
burning off the hair and leaving the imprint on the skin. 
A pecuharchp was also given to the ear of each animal, which 
enables the ownership to be proved whenever they get 
mixed with herds belonging to another ranch. It took 
nearly all day to brand the yearlings in the corral; they 
were then turned loose with the rest of the herd, which was 
allowed to return to its feeding-grounds. The same process 
is repeated until all the cattle have been rounded up and 
branded. 

If it were not for its monotony, there would be m.uch 
worse modes of hfe than that on a Coahuila ranch. The 



422 MEXICO 

country is wonderfully healthy, the climate resembling that 
of the southern part of the United States, but without 
the extremes of heat and cold which are experienced there. 
In the winter months the weather is quite bracing, and warm 
clothing is essential, especially when a '' norther" swoops 
down through the country. I was there early in April, at 
which time the weather is almost perfection. 

Since the great prairie lands of the United States, which 
once supported immense herds of cattle, have almost dis- 
appeared, the Mexican ranches have begun to attract much 
more attention, and a large amount of American capital 
is being invested in them. As feeding grounds for cattle, 
the Mexican ranges do not compare with the prairies, such, 
for instance, as formerly existed in Texas and the Indian 
Territory (now Oklahoma). Instead of the long, luscious 
prairie grass on which the American herds fattened, the 
Mexican cattle have to browse on coarse grass, weeds and 
even cactus, which they devour in spite of the prickles. In 
times of drought, when water and fodder are scarce, the 
peons sometimes gather quantities of prickly pear and par- 
tially burn off the sharp spikes, the broad, flat leaves, which 
are very juicy, being ravenously eaten by the cattle. Owing 
to the poor grazing which the Mexican ranges afford, it is 
estimated that about fifteen acres is required to support each 
animal, so that about one hundred and fifty thousand acres 
is needed for ten thousand head of cattle. This serves to ex- 
plain the reason for the enormous extent of the great ranches. 

Next to the question of food, the supply of water is of 
supreme importance in a country where streams are scarce 
and there is a long dry season. On most ranches the bulk 
of the water-supply is obtained from wells, the water being 
raised by means of windmills. It is oftentimes a long 
distance from the feeding grounds to the water, and in 
times of drought large numbers of cattle perish. 



I 



IN NOBTHEBN MEXICO 423 

The native Mexican cattle have much the same look as 
the Spanish breeds, with long, wide, curving horns, but are 
not of much value as meat-producers. They cost about 
$5 each. Of foreign cattle the Swiss and Holland breeds 
seem to thrive best on the Mexican ranges, and these are 
being successfully crossed with the native stock. 

On the ranch which we visited there were over a thou- 
sand head of horses, most of them small, bony, wiry animals, 
which hardly fetch |3 in the market. There was, however, 
some fine-looking stock, the result of crossing the native 
English and French breeds. On some of the ranches from 
ten to twenty thousand horses find pasturage, and for 
breeding purposes are divided into bunches of fifty or more, 
according to their color, browns, roans, grays, etc., so as 
to secure uniformity in the stock. After being kept to- 
gether for some time, these bunches never become mixed 
with each other, but when roaming over the range each 
keeps to itself. 

In addition to cattle and horses, goats are popular species 
of live stock on Mexican ranches, herds of five and ten thou- 
sand being quite common. Goats are very profitable, as 
a rule, requiring very Httle attention, and thriving on the 
poorest pasturage. Goats' flesh is much eaten by the poorer 
classes in Mexico, and there is always a good market for 
the skins. 

We passed a pleasant night at the camp, where sleeping 
quarters were provided in two or three large tents. Out 
in the open, fires were kindled by the Mexican cooks, who, 
with the aid of sundry pans and skillets prepared a very 
appetizing supper for the hungry ranchmen. There was 
fried beef, pork and beans, freshly baked hardtack and 
coffee. Later in the evening, in honor of our visit, a flask 
of rye whiskey was produced from some place of conceal- 
ment, and a homoeopathic quantity subtracted by each of us. 



424 MEXICO 

As we sat round the fire enjoying a smoke, the scene was 
delightfully picturesque. Above, in the clearest of skies, 
was the bright moon and a blaze of stars, which Hghted the 
great plain stretching for miles to the westward. One of 
a party of Mexicans who were squatting together a short 
distance away produced an old mandolin, and to the accom- 
paniment of this his companions joined in singing one of 
those plaintive Spanish songs which seem to strangely 
harmonize with the hfe of Mexico. Stirred into activity 
by this burst of song, some coyotes or prairie wolves not 
far off set up a dismal howling, to which some of the dogs 
in the camp replied in wonderful imitation. In this part 
of the country there are not only coyotes but lynx, puma, 
and cinnamon bears, affording excellent sport for those who 
are handy with a rifle. 

During the evening I entered into conversation with 
the ranch foreman, a very intelligent Mexican, who had 
been employed on one of the great ranches of northern 
Mexico, much larger in extent than the average American 
county. I had some curiosity to learn how these great 
estates are managed. He informed me that this particular 
estate was divided into farms of from one thousand to 
twenty-five hundred acres each, a foreman being placed 
in charge of each farm and managing it independently. 
Machinery, tools, horses, mules, wagons and money for 
the peons was furnished to each foreman. At certain parts 
of the estate there were general stores where the peons 
could obtain their food, clothing and other requisites on 
credit. Most of them remained in debt to the stores, and 
never saw any of the money representing their wages. In 
some cases an entire village would be in this condition of 
indebtedness. On this estate there were three thousand 
peons, who, with their families, made a total population of 
ten thousand. 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 425 

Although the country seems very barren when viewed 
from the railway, and the ranges seem to afford very scanty 
subsistence for the cattle, Coahuila is nevertheless one of 
the richest agricultural States in Mexico. The soil in many 
places is wonderfully fertile, yielding large crops of wheat, 
cotton, sugar-cane and maize. Grapes are now being grown 
to some extent, and an excellent quahty of wine has been 
produced, superior in some respects to that of California. 
There are also great orchards of such fruits as apples, pears 
and quince. As Coahuila is just below the boundary of 
the United States, and railway connections are steadily 
improving, it offers many attractions to settlers. Large 
numbers of Americans with capital are coming into this 
part of Mexico. One of the Coahuila towns, Torreon, which 
was until recently a small Indian village, has now a large 
American population and has been transformed into a 
thriving, busy place, with substantial buildings of brick 
and stone, equipped with electric hght, telephones and 
other modern accessories. 

My visit to this interesting State was a fitting close to 
my Mexican travels. Here, as in other parts of the Repub- 
lic, I found the same development of resources in progress, 
the same inrush of new methods, the awakening of the 
people and the steady Americanization of the land. Here, 
too, I found that touch of the picturesque which makes 
Mexico, with all her faults, so fascinating to the stranger 
within her gates ; for the deep blue, cloudless sky, the vast 
herds of cattle and the galloping vaqueros are things to be 
remembered for many a day. 

The next morning I rode with my companion back to the 
railway, and a few hours later was again on the train return- 
ing to Monterey, with its busy streets and hum of hfe. 
Two days afterwards I boarded the St. Louis express once 
more and resumed my journey northwards. 



426 MEXICO 

It is 166 miles from Monterey to Nuevo Laredo on the 
Rio Grande River, which divides Mexico from the United 
States. The scenery for half the distance continues of the 
same arid description, dry valleys, with cactus and scrubby 
vegetation, and low, barren, sun-baked hills. Then comes 
a wide plain, stretching to the horizon, a desolate region, 
with the same scrubby bushes and dry, yellow grass. 
Travellers coming from the North get a very bad impression 
of the country in the dry season. I have heard people 
who have been in Texas and have gone down a few miles 
over the border into Mexico, denouncing the country as a 
perfect desert. They have simply seen a few leagues of 
these barren plains and sun-baked hills and call that " see- 
ing Mexico." 

At the httle station of Nuevo Laredo I bade farewell, 
with many regrets, to old Mexico. There was a halt of 
a few minutes here and a cursory examination of baggage. 
It appeared that some serious robberies had recently oc- 
curred in the capital, and the poHce, thinking that the 
thieves might be attempting to leave the country with their 
plunder, had ordered a search to be made for suspicious 
persons and baggage at Vera Cruz and Tampico and at all 
railway stations along the American border. I exchanged 
a few words with the polite old customs officer, who, with 
his bronzed, bearded face and mihtary bearing, might have 
stepped from a canvas by Velasquez. As I got on the 
train, which was already moving, he hfted his hat, and 
with graceful courtesy said, ^'Adios, senor, vaya usted 
con Dios." 

The sun was slowly sinking over the reddish hills of Mex- 
ico as our train steamed over the long steel bridge spanning 
the wide, shallow Rio Grande River, to the bustling town 
of Laredo, Texas. Looking backwards, I could see the 
little station, with its group of drowsy peons loafing outside. 



IN NORTHERN MEXICO 427 

while above it the red, white and green flag of Mexico 
floated idly in the evening breeze. Back there, beyond the 
miles of barren mountains and plains were the everlasting 
hills tipped with snow, overlooking many a quaint old town, 
with its ancient churches and its sunny plazas bright with 
a wealth of flowers, where a kindly though slowly progress- 
ing people were still living the life of the past. Back there, 
at least, the picturesque still survived; but was it to be 
soon obliterated by the prosaic American invasion? 

As if in answer to this question, a sharp, businesslike 
voice greeted my ear. ''All the latest books and papers — 
San Antonio Express, St. Louis and Chicago papers. 
Here's all of 'em." We had reached the American side of 
the river, and a husthng news-vendor had boarded the train 
with a fresh supply of literature. At the same moment 
another brisk voice broke in with, '' Laredo ; all passengers 
out for customs examination. Please step lively." Some 
local celebration happened to be in progress, and the station 
was decorated with masses of American flags. Just as I 
left the train, a brass band blared forth ''Hail, Columbia," 
and a crowd of enthusiastic citizens rent the air with ear- 
piercing cheers. 

Here was Laredo, the outpost of the United States, 
with its energy, its push, and its inspiring patriotism ; and 
there, across that wide, shallow river was Mexico, the old, 
the romantic, the picturesque, slowly but surely awakening 
into new life through the oncoming host of American in- 
vaders. 



INDEX 



Adobe houses, 40. 

Advertisements, Mexico City, 64. 

Agriculture, on haciendas in Cuautla, 
322-326, 329-330; in the hot 
lands, 385-386; in northern 
Mexico, 410, 425. 

Aguadores, 34, 99. 

Aguas Calientes, 407. 

Ajusco, Mount, 221. 

Alameda, the, Mexico City, 48-49. 

Alban, Monte, ruins on, 300-302. 

Alvarado, Pedro, peon millionaire, 
365-366. 

Ambassadors, Hall of, National 
Palace, 90. 

Amecameca, town of, 328, 330-331; 
sacred mountain and Passion 
Play at, 335-336. 

Americanization of Mexico, 176. 

American quarter, Mexico City, 171, 
182. 

Americans, in Mexico City, 59-60; 
invasion of Mexico by tourists, 
and their characteristics, 170- 
173; good feeling between Eng- 
lish residents and, 173 ; pro- 
moters of "schemes," 173-174; 
Mexican feeling against, 174- 
175; called "gringos," 175; 
capital invested by, 175, 297; 
at Cuernavaca, 227; at Puebla, 
244; at Oaxaca, 265-266, 298; 
at Cuautla, 318; at Guadalajara, 
343; in northern Mexico, 408, 
425. 

Amusements, public, Mexico City, 
130-131. 

Animals, blessing of the, 155-156. 

Annexation, possibility of, 176. 

Apam, plains of, 40, 44. 

Aqueduct, remains of, Mexico City, 
99. 



Arcade Hotel, Puebla, 238. 

Archaeological researches, 301, 308. 

Armor, exhibit of, Mexico City, 91. 

Arms of Mexico, 210. 

Army, system of education in, 149; 
training of ofl&cers, statistics 
concerning, etc., 217-218. 

Art, specimens of. National Museum, 
Mexico City, 93; in church 
buildings, 114; works of, in 
churches, 246-247; Murillo's 
"Assumption," Guadalajara, 
342; Titian's "Entombment of 
Christ," 372-375. 

Artists, prominent, 128, 

Art students, public assistance of, 
128. 

Atequiza, village of, 349. 

Atlacomulco, hacienda of, 225, 

Australian sheep in Chihuahua, 410. 

Automobile roads, 129, 220-221. 

Automobiles, Mexico City, 103, 105, 
129. 

Aztecs, history of tribe of, 71-77; 
descendants of the, 184-185; 
remains of, about Cuernavaca, 
230-231. 

Baird, W. H., 272-278. 
Ball-playing, Mexican, 291, 292. 
Banana raising, 383, 385, 405. 
Baronial estates, 322-325, 350, 404, 

414. 
Barranca, the, at Cuernavaca, 228; 

at Guadalajara, 347. 
Bathing, compulsory, 137. 
Beans, as staple food, 32. 
"Bear, playing the," 161-165, 327; 

Young America's views on, 363. 
Beggars, 15-16, 40, 109, 227; in 

Mexico City, 66; check placed 

on, under Diaz regime, 213. 



429 



430 



INDEX 



Blake, W. W., researches of, 92. 
Blessing of the animals, custom of, 

155-156. 
Borda, Jose de la, 225-226. 
Borda Garden and mansion, 225-227. 
Bosque, park in Mexico City, 102. 
Boulevard, Mexico City, 99-100. 
Breweries, 129, 418. 
Brigandage, extinction of, 203-204. 
British in Mexico, 177-178, 276-277. 

See English. 
British Club, Mexico City, 183. 
Buena Vista, battle of, 415. 
Bull-fights, Mexico City, 105-106. 
Burden-bearers, Mexican, 4r-5, 45. 
Burial customs, 154, 360-361. 

Cabs {coches), 20, 45-46. 
Cacahuamilpa, caves of, 231-233. 
Cacti, Mexican, 256-257; fibre-pro- 
ducing qualities of, 330. 
Cafes, Vera Cruz, 6; Mexico City, 

139. 
Calendar Stone, Aztec, 92. 
Calle Cinco de Mayo, Mexico City, 

60. 
Calle San Francisco, Mexico City, 62. 
Campeche, State of, 383. 
Canada, large interests of, in Mexico, 

178. 
Canons. See Barranca. 
Capital, foreign, in Mexico, 175, 

206-207; opportunity for men 

with small, 180-181. 
Cargadores, 4-5, 45. 
Carriages, Mexico City, 103. 
Casino Espanol, Mexico City, 183. 
Catacomb, at Guanajuato, 360-362. 
Cathedral, Vera Cruz, 2, 6 ; Orizaba, 

25; Mexico City, 87; of San 

Francisco, at Cuernavaca, 224; 

Puebla, 240-241; Oaxaca, 264, 

270; Guadalajara, 342. 
Catholicism, tenacity of, 151-152. 
Catorce, town of, 414—415. 
Cattle, native and foreign, 423. 
Caves of Cacahuamilpa, 231-233, 
Ceremonial, tendency to, 132. 
Chapala, town of, 350-352. 
Chapala, Lake, 350, 351-354. 



Chapalteco Indians, 354. 
Chapultepec, military college at, 217. 
Chapultepec, Castle of, Mexico City, 

101. 
Chapultepec Cafe, 103. 
Charcoal, use of, Mexico City, 59. 
Charles IV, statue of, Mexico City, 

100. 
Charnay, French archaeologist, 109- 

110. 
Cherubusco, Country Club at, 183. 
Chihuahua, State of, 404, 409, 410. 
Children, education and training of, 

126. 
Chimneys, absence of, Mexico City, 

58, 59. 
Chinese, resemblance of Mexican 

Indians to, 185-186. 
Chinese club, Mexico City, 183. 
Cholula, town of, 244-247. 
Christian Science in Mexico, 153. 
Christmas festivities, 242-244; at 

Los Reyes, 290-294. 
Church, governmental interference 

with the, 151. 
Church, the oldest, in America, 248. 
Church of — 

Jesus Maria, Mexico City, 113. 
Jesus Nazareno, Mexico City, 111. 
La Compania, Puebla, 241. 
La Piedad, Mexico City, 116. 
Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, 

Mexico City, 112. 
Nuestra Senora de los Remedios, 

Cholula, 246-247. 
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo, 117-122. 
Our Lady of Succor, Los Reme- 
dios, 116. 
San Cristobal, Puebla, 241. 
San Diego, Mexico City, 49. 
San Francisco, Jalapa, 397. 
San Francisco, Puebla, 241. 
San Francisco, Tlaxcala, 248. 
San Francisco, Vera Cruz, 6. 
San Hipolito, Mexico City, 113. 
Santa Cruz, Queretaro, 375. 
Santa Domingo, Oaxaca, 270. 
Santa Rosa, Queretaro, 375. 
Santa Teresa, Orizaba, 25. 



INDEX 



431 



Churches, at Orizaba, 25; Mexico 
City, 111-115; Cuautla, 319; 
Queretaio, 375. 

Church-bell nuisance, 24, 152, 241. 

Church pictu es, 246-247, 342, 372. 

Church propel ty, state appropriation 
of, 151, 3 9. 

Cinematograph shows, 130, 241. 

City of Churches, 236. 

City of temples, a, 245. 

Climate, 17-18, 53; in Mexico City, 
50; of Guadalajara, 341-342. 

Clothes, 20-22, 27-28; of priests, 
25, 151; cost of peons', 33; ex- 
pense of, 65; ladies', 168. 

Clubs, foreign residents', 183. 

Coahuila, State of, 404, 415 ff., 425; 
a ranch in, 418-425. 

Coal, small quantity of, produced, 
369. 

Cock-fighting, 191-192. 

Coffee, Mexican, 142. 

Coffee raising, 383, 405. 

Colima, State of, 348. 

Colima volcano, 348. 

Columbus statue, Mexico City, 100. 

Congress, the Federal, 210. 

Contras, Jose Peon y, poet, 128. 

Convent of San Francisco, at 
Tzintzuntzan, 372. 

Convolvulus, 223. 

Copper mines, 369. 

Cordier, Columbus statue by, 100. 

Cordoba, town of, 14-16. 

Corn, production of, 237; in hot 
lands, 385. 

Corral, Vice-President, 208. 

Cortes, 3, 19, 54, 87; conquest of 
Mexico by, 74-79; absence of 
monuments to, 100; death and 
burial-place of, 111-112; traces 
of, at Cuernavaca, 224^225 ; title 
of Marquis of the Valley of 
Oaxaca, 271. 

Cosio, General, 208. 

Cost of living, Mexico City, 136. 

Cotton growing, northern Mexico, 
410. 

Country Club, Mexico City, 183. 

Courtship, method of, 161. 



Courts of law, 211 ff. 

Creel, Ambassador, 180, 208. 

Creelman, James, quoted, 202, 208- 
209. 

Criadors, 263. 

Cuauhnahuac, 221. 

Cuauhtemoc, Aztec prince, statue of, 
100. 

Cuautla, mineral springs and hacien- 
das at, 314-327. 

Cuernavaca, 219-230. 

Curanderas, wise women, 311. 

Currency, Mexican, 7. 

Customs officials, Mexican and 
American, 426, 427. 

Dances, peons', at Christmas festivi- 
ties, 293; of Zapotec Indians, 
312-313. 

Death-rate, Mexico City, 55. 

Degollado theatre, Guadalajara, 343- 
344. 

Dentists, American, in Mexico, 23. 

Devil Dance of Zapotec Indians, 
312-313. 

Diaz, Porfirio, defeats forces of 
Maximilian, 84; becomes Presi- 
dent of Mexico (1876), 85; 
receptions held by, 90 ; residence 
of, 91 ; disappro^^al of bull-fight- 
ing by, 106; the President and 
his wife as social leaders, 126 ; at 
the Circo Teatro, 131; weekly 
baths enforced by, 137; treat- 
ment of newspaper editors, 143- 
144; educational system in- 
augurated by, 148-150; keen- 
ness on religious toleration, 153; 
affection of natives for, 198; 
sketch of career of, 199-202; 
personal appearance of, 202; 
habits, 202-203; family, 203; 
progress of country under, 203- 
207; question of successor to, 
207-208 ; danger from prolonged 
rule of, 208 ; views on education, 
209; reception given to Mystic 
Shriners by, 337 ; and the West^ 
ern widows, 338. 

"Dick, the Chinaman," 260. 



432 



INDEX 



Diplomatic corps, Mexico City, 127. 
Divorces, absence of, 158. 
Drainage system, Mexico City, 54. 
Drawnwork of Aguas Calientes, 407. 
Dress, change in women's, to French 

styles, 168. See Clothes. 
Drinking, by Indians, 40-43, 193- 

195. 
Drinking-places, 6-7, 28. 
Drinks in restaurants, 141. 
Duck- shoo ting, Chapala, 353. 
Duels, 164. 
Durango, State and city of, 404, 408- 

409. 

Eating-places, Mexico City, 63, 138- 
143. 

Education, progress in, 148-150; 
lack of, in women, 167; of In- 
dians, 192; President Diaz on, 
209. 

Educational institutions, Mexico 
City, 149. 

Enchiladas, 140. 

English customs, Mexico City, 125. 

English in Mexico, 173; called 
"Americans," 176; loss of first 
place in trade in Mexico by, 177- 
178; as mining men, 276-277. 

"Entombment of Christ," Titian's, 
372-375. 

Escandon, Senor Landa y, 126-127, 
208. 

Escandon mansion, Mexico City, 61. 

Esperanza, town of, 38. 

Estates, baronial (haciendas), 322- 
325. 

Executions, method pursued in, 
216-217. 

Exports of Mexico, 179. 

Fair God legend, 69, 93. 

Family life, 158. 

Farming estates, 322-326, 350, 404, 
414. 

Farming in the hot lands, 382 ff. 

Federal District, Mexico City, gov- 
ernment of, 96-97. 

Felipe, patron saint of Mexico Citv, 
98-99. 



Fernandez, Seiior, 208. 

Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 
117, 120. 

Festivals, Christmas, 243-244. 

Fibre plants, cultivatic n of, 326, 329- 
330. 

Fiestas, 189. 

Fifth of May Street, Mexico City, 60. 

Fishing, in Lake Chapala, 353; at 
Tampico, 399-403. 

Flirtations, 161-162. 

Flores, Manuel, poet, 128. 

Flower Market, Mexico City, 95. 

Food, cost of, 136; in restaurants, 
Mexico City, 138-141. 

Foreigners in Mexico, 170 ff . ; capital 
invested by, 175; Americans, 
Spanish, French, Germans, Eng- 
lish, and Canadians, 177-178; 
influence exercised by children 
•of, 179-180; colonies and clubs 
of, Mexico City, 182-183; min- 
ing properties of, 272. 

Foreign quarters, Mexico City, 181- 
182. 

Fortune-telling, 229. 

French, occupation of Mexico by, 
83-84; clubs of, Mexico City, 
183. 

French business men in Mexico, 177. 

Frias family, 414. 

Frijoles, 140. 

Fruits, 141, 267, 383, 385, 405, 425. 

Funeral customs, 154. 

Funerals, street-cars used for, 97-98; 
prevalence of Catholic rites in, 
154. 

Fuster, Alberto, artist, 128. 

Gambling, 61, 65-66, 297-298; by 

Indians, 191-192. 
Game, land of the big, 381-382. 
Games, Christmas, 242-244, 292- 

293; gambling, 297-298 {see 

Gambling) . 
Germans in Mexico, 177; affiliation 

of, with Mexicans, 180 ; club and 

club building of, Mexico City, 

183. 
Gillow, Archbishop, 270. 



I 



INDEX 



Goat raising, 423. 

Gold, undiscovered mines of, 368; 

annual output of, 369. 
Gold mining, 272-282; in State of 

Jalisco, 348-349. 
Government, autocracy of, 205- 

206; machinery of, 210 ff. 
Government Palace, Cuernavaca, 

224. 
Granadita, the, 32. 
Graphite from Mexico, 369. 
Grazing land, American vs. Mexican, 

422. 
"Greasers," 174. 
"Gringos," 175. 
Grocery stores, Spanish ownership 

of, 298-299. 
Guadalajara, 339-349. 
Guadalajara ware, 346-347. 
Guadalupe, festival of Our Lady of, 

117, 120. 
Guanajuato, the "silver city," 355- 

367. 
Guernsey, Frederick, 145. 
Guerrero, President, 187. 
Guerrero, ruins in, 233. 

Haciendas, 322-326 ; near Guadala- 
jara, 350; in San Luis Potosi, 
406-407. 

Hacienda system, an obstacle to 
progress, 325. 

Hall of Monoliths, Mitla, 306-310. 

Health resorts, 249-257, 314-322, 
407, 415. 

Hearse-cars, 97-98, 154. 

Heating of houses, 182. 

Hemp trade, 329-330. 

Henequen, growth of, 329-330. 

Hermosillo, capital of Sonora, 413. 

Hidalgo, Miguel, insurrection of, 79- 
80, 90, 359. 

Highwaymen, treatment of, 216-217. 

Hill of the Frogs, Guanajuato called, 
357. 

Horse races, Mexico City, 130. 

Horse raising, 423. 

Hospicio, Guadalajara, 345-346. 

Hotel de France, 23. 

Hotel Diligencia, Vera Cruz, 395. 

2i> 



Hotel Morelos, Cuautla, 317-318. 
Hotels, Mexican, 23-24, 46-48; at 

Orizaba, 23 ; at Cuernavaca, 223 ; 

at Puebla, 238; at Tehuacan, 

251-253 ; at Oaxaca, 262-263 ; at 

Cuautla, 317-318; at Chapala, 

351 ; at Vera Cruz, 395 ; at Tam- 

pico, 400. 
Hot lands, 233, 259-260, 380, 382- 

393 ; products and great future 

of, 383. 
Hot springs, 407. 

Housekeeping, absence of good, 166. 
House of Tiles, Mexico City, 61. 
Houses, Mexico City, 124; rental 

of, 136; heating of, 183; at 

Puebla, 239. 
Huitzilopochtli, Aztec War-god, 87, 

91. 
Hunting grounds, 381-382. 

Idols, Aztec, 92-93. 

Indian corn, 237; growth of, in hot 
lands, 385. 

India rubber, extraction of and pros- 
pects for, 384-385. 

India rubber plantations, 382, 384. 

Indians, Mexican, 20-21, 22, 184- 
186; pohteness of, 133-134; 
Yaqui, 185 ; resemblance of, to 
Chinese and Japanese, 185-186; 
Mayan, 186 ; numbers of, 187 ; 
women of, 192-193; drink the 
curse of, 193-195; bathing and 
non-bathing habits of, 195 ; sto- 
ries of stupidity of, 195-197; in 
the army, 218; as pottery-mak- 
ers, 228-229; of San Antone, 
229; Yaqui, 411-414. See Ma- 
yans, Yaquis, Zapotecs, etc. 

Infant mortality, 193. 

Influenza in Mexico, 314. 

Inquisition, victims of the, 49. 

Investment, field for, in Mexico, 179. 

Investments, opportunity for small, 
180-181 ; grand total of foreign, 
206-207. 

Iripuato, town of, 355. 

Iron deposits, 369. 

Irrigation of land, 410. 



434 



INDEX 



Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 378-393. 

Iturbide, Augustin, career of, 80-81 ; 
burial-place, 88. 

Ixtaccihuatl, Mount, 102, 224; 
shortening of name, by Ameri- 
cans, 177; legend of, 332. 

Ixtle, fibre-producing qualities of, 
330. 

Ixtlilxochitli, Indian poet, 127. 

Izaguirre, Leandro, artist, 128. 

Jaguar, country of the, 381-382. 

Jalapa, city of, 395-397. 

Jalisco, State of, 348. 

Jalisco Times, the, 343. 

Japanese, resemblance of Mexican 

Indians to, 185-186. 
Jiminez, Francisco, statue by, 100. 
Jockey Club, Mexico City, 61. 
Juarez, Benito, 82-85, 94, 187. 

Kansas City, Mexican and Orient 
Railway, 409. 

La Cima, 220. 

Lakes, about Mexico City, 53 ; Cha- 

pala and Patzcuaro, 350, 351- 

354, 370-371. 
Language, the Spanish, as spoken in 

Mexico, 128-129. 
La Trinidad mine, 367. 
Law courts, 211 ff. 
Lead deposits, 369. 
Legends of miracles, 115-119. 
Lerma River, 352. 
Letter-writers, public, 34, 
Libel laws, 144. 
Liberty Bell of Mexico, 90. 
Libraries, public, 6, 149. 
Limantour, J. Y., 127, 208. 
Literature, leaders in, 127-128. 
Lopez, Gregorio, 88. 
Los Reyes, gold-mine at, 287, 294; 

Christmas celebration at, 290- 

294. 
Lotteries, 65. 

Love-making, method of, 161-165. 
Luna Park, Mexico City, 102. 
Lunchrooms, railway, 38, 260, 315- 

317. 



Maguey plant, the, 40-41; other 
uses for, than drink, 330. 

Maguey plantations, 329. 

Mahogany, 383. 

Maltrata, village of, 37. 

Mango, the Mexican, 32. 

Mantilla, the, 89. 

Manzanillo, railway to, 348. 

Mariscal, Senor, statesman and 
writer, 128. 

Market, at Oaxaca, 267-270. 

Markets, public, 31. 

Mark Twain, quotation from, 230. 

Marriage, charges by priests, 152; 
ideas about, 161; Indians' 
disregard of, 193. 

Martinez, Ramos, artist, 128. 

"Mashers," Mexico City, 104, 160; 
and the Western widows, 338. 

Maximilian, Archduke, Emperor of 
Mexico, 83-84; relics of, in 
National Museum, 93 ; municipal 
improvements in Mexico City 
imder, 100-101 ; surrender and 
execution of, at Queretaro, 376- 
377. 

Mayan Indians, 186, 391. 

Meat, Mexican, 33. 

Merida, city of, 389. 

Mexican Central Railway, scenic 
attractions of, 219-220; be- 
tween Mexico City and Guadala- 
jara, 340; from Guadalajara 
westward to Manzanillo, 347- 
348. 

Mexican Herald, the, 145. 

Mexican Railway, 13-14. 

Mexican Southern Railway, 261-262. 

Mexican War, the, 81. 

Mexico, past history of, 67 ff. ; deri- 
vation of the name, 72. 

Mexico, Valley of, 220. 

Mexico City, 44-66, 86 ff. ; govern- 
ment of, 96-97; consideration 
of the name, 177; visit of 
Shriners to, 336-337. 

Meztizos, 187. 

Military college, Mexico City, 102. 

Militia, national, 217-218. 

Mineral productions, 179. 



INDEX 



435 



Mineral springs, 249-257, 320-322. 
See Health resorts. 

Mines, inaccessibility of, 272. 

Mining, in Guerrero, 233-234; 
around Oaxaca, 272-282, 296- 
297; in Jalisco, 348-349. 

Mining expert, a so-called, 263. 

Mining laws, 280-281. 

Mining possibilities, 369. 

Miracles, 115-119. 

Mitla, ruins of, 302-310. 

Model city, near Cuernavaca, 222. 

Money, Mexican, 7. 

Monterey, city of, 417-418; battle 
of, 418. 

Monterey News, the, 418. 

Montezuma I, King, 72. 

Moon Pyramid, 107-108. 

Morals, laxity in, 161. 

Morelos, Jose Maria, insurrection of, 
80, 319. 

Morelos, Hotel, 317. 

Morelos, State of, 224. 

Motoring, interest in, 129. See 
Automobiles. 

Motor roads, 129, 220-221. 

Mummies, in catacomb at Guana- 
juato, 361-362. 

Murillo, the "Assumption" by, 342. 

Music, Mexican fondness for and in- 
dulgence in, 131-132. 

National Library, Mexico City, 149. 

National Museum, Mexico City, 91. 

National Palace, Mexico City, 89-91. 

National Pawn-shop, 94. 

Natividad mine, 272. 

Negroes in Mexico, 9. 

Newspaper readers, public, 28-29. 

Newspapers, 143-146. 

New Year's at Oaxaca, 299. 

Nicknames by Americans, 177. 

Nitzahualcoyotl, Indian poet, 127. 

Niven, William, archaeologist, 233. 

Novelists, 128. 

Nueva Laredo, station of, 426. 

Oaxaca, President Diaz' birth and 
early years at, 198-199, 271; 
prison in, 217 ; pronunciation 



and location, 250; railway to, 
261-262; visit at, 262-271; min- 
ing about, 272-282, 296-297; 
prehistoric remains about, 300- 
310. 

Oaxaca, State of, 283-284. 

Oil, production of, 369; for fuel on 
railways, 379. 

Onyx quarries, Puebla, 240. 

Opera-house, Mexico City, 57. 

Organs in churches, 115. 

Orizaba, Mount, 2, 26, 37, 38. 

Orizaba, town of, 12, 19-35. 

Our Lady of the Angels, church and 
shrine of, Mexico City, 112-113. 

Oxen, teams of, 267. 

Pachuca, silver mining at, 367. 

Paganism, survivals of, 150. 

Palacio, Vincent Riva, novelist, 128. 

Palenque, ruins at, 390. 

Pan-American Railway, 389-390. 

Pankhurst, Senor, 180. 

Paper pulp from cacti, 330. 

Para grass, 405. 

Parks, 49. 

Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City, 
99-100. 

Passion Play at Amecameca, 335-336. 

Patio process of silver extraction, 366. 

Patzcuaro, Lake, 350, 370-371. 

Patzcuaro, town of, 370-371. 

Pawn-shop, National, 94. 

Paz, Irenio, novelist, 128. 

Pearson and Sons, works of, at Rin- 
con Antonio, 386. 

Pears' Soap anecdote, 196-197. 

Peons, 184, 350; dress of, 20-21, 
33; wretched living conditions 
of, Mexico City, 136-137; good 
qualities and faults, 187-188; on 
large haciendas, 324^326, 424. 
See Indians. 

Periodicals, 145. 

Pesa, Juan de Dios, poet, 128. 

Petroleum, supply of, 369. 

Physicians, American, in Mexico, 23. 

Picture-cards, game of, 297-298. 

Pictures in churches, 246-247, 342, 
372. 



436 



INDEX 



Picture-writings, 70. 

Pilgrimages, remarks on, 236. 

Pinates, 242-243. 

"Playing the bear," 161-165, 327, 
363. 

Plazas in cities, 25-26. 

Pneimionia, in Mexico City, 55. 

Poets and poetry, 127-128. 

Poindexter, Colonel, 400. 

Police, in Vera Cruz, 10 ; at Orizaba, 
34 ; Mexico City, 50-52 ; Republi- 
can Guard, Mexico City, 100- 
101; enforced baths by, 137; 
work of, under Diaz regime, 213- 
214; abuses by, 214-216. 

Politeness, Spanish style of, in Mexico 
City, 132; of Indians, 133-134, 
192. 

Polygamy, 193. 

Popocatepetl, Mount, 102, 220, 224; 
shortening of name, by Ameri- 
cans, 177; ascent and descrip- 
tion of, 328, 331-335; legend 
of, 332 ; sulphur mining on, 334. 

Popo Park, 331. 

Posadas, 243-244. 

Post-office, Mexico City, 57. 

Pottery, 33-34; from Guadalajara, 
346-347 ; Aguas Calientes ware, 
407. 

Pottery industry, San Antone, 228- 
229. 

Prehistoric relics, 390. 

Prescott, W. H., quoted, 245, 308. 

Press, Mexican, 143-146. 

Priests, Mexican, 25; influence of, 
150-151. 

Prisons, compulsory education in, 
149; conditions in, 217. 

Procrastination, prevailing habit of, 
132-133. 

Products of Mexico, 179. 

Protestantism, slight hold of, 153. 

Puebla, city of, 235-247. 

Puebla, State of, 239. 

Puerto Mexico, port of, 379, 388. 

Pullman cars, 13. 

Pulque, national drink, 40-43, 141 ; 
consumption of, by Indians, 
193-195. 



Pulquerias, 194. 
Pyramid at Cholula, 245-246. 
Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, 107- 
108. 

Queretaro, surrender and execution 
of Emperor Maximilian at, 84- 
85, 376-377; visit to, 375-377. 

Quero, Don Felix, 304. 

Queroga, Bishop, 373. 

Quetzalcoatl, legend of, 69; idol 
called, 93; emblem of, 231; 
temple of, Cholula, 245-246. 

Railway, Mexican, 13-14; Mexican 
Central, 219-220, 340, 347-348; 
Tehuantepec National, 378 ff., 
388-389; a Pan-American, 389- 
390; Kansas City, Mexican and 
Orient, 409. 

Railway possibilities, 389. 

Railway restaurants, 38, 260, 315- 
317. 

Railways, government policy con- 
cerning, 146-147, 204; changes 
effected by, 148. 

Railway stations, 45, 147. 

Railway trains, 12-13, 35. 

Railway travel, cost of, 35. 

Ranches, in State of Coahuila, 418- 
425. See Haciendas. 

Ranch hfe, 418-425. 

Real estate investments, 182. 

Rebeccas, Indian, 274. 

Refresco, Mexican drink, 6. 

Religion, state of, 151-154; of the 
peons, 189-190. 

Religious practices, 150, 155-156. ^ : 

Religious toleration, 152-153. ■ 

Rent, cost of, Mexico City, 136. 

Republican Guard, Mexico City, 
100-101. 

Restaurants, railway, 38, 260, 315- 
317; in Mexico City, 63, 138- 
143. 

Reyes, General, 208. 

Rincon Antonio, railway shops at, 
386. 

Rubber. See India rubber. 

Rurales, mounted police, 213. 



INDEX 



437 



Salina Cruz, port of, 379, 387-388. 
Saltillo, town of, 415. 
Salvation Army, barred from Mex- 
ico, 153. 
San Antone, 228-229. 
San Francisco Street, Mexico City, 

62. 
San Juan Teotihuacan, town of, 107- 

108. 
San Juan de Ulloa, island of, 3. 
San Luis Potosi, city of, 406. 
San Miguel Peras, village of, 287, 

289-290. 
San Pedro, village of, 346. 
Santa Ana, General, 81. 
Santa Lucrezia, village of, 383. 
Sapodilla, the, 32. 

Sarape, the, 21 ; an Indian word, 
129; "made in Germany," 407- 
408. 
"Schemes," men with, 173-174, 263, 
264, 295, 363; a victim of, 416- 
417. 
Sculptors at San Pedro, 346-347. 
Sculpture, Mexico City, 100. 
Seasons, dry and rainy, 53. 
Servants, 48 ; force of custom among, 
134; wages of, 166; mmibers of 
household, and customs, 166- 
167. 
Sheep farming in Chihuahua, 410. 
Shooting, at Chapala, 353; jaguar, 

puma, tapir, deer, etc., 382. 
Shops, at Orizaba, 22-23; at Mexico 

City, 62. 
Shriners in Mexico, 336-337; at 

Guadalajara, 344-345. 
Sierra, Justo, poet, 128. 
Signs, American, in Mexico City, 59. 
Silver, the mining of, 364-367, 408; 
processes of extraction of, 366; 
annual output of, 369. 
Silver king, tarpon called, 400. 
Silver kings, 225-226, 364-366. 
Slavery, 184-185, 188-191, 424. 
Slum districts, Mexico City, 136-137. 
Smith, F. Hopkinson, quoted, 190, 

373-375. 
Smoking by women, 165. 
Soap-manufacture, 239. 



Social leaders, Mexico City, 126-127. 

Social Hfe, Mexico City, 124. 

Soldiers, Mexico City, 57; on guard 
at National Palace, 90; compul- 
sory education for, 149 ; training 
of, statistics of army, uniform, 
etc., 217-218. 

Sombrero, Danza de, 293. 

Sombreros, 21. 

Sonora, Yaqui Indian war in, 411- 
414. 

Sorrowful Night, the, 107, 113. 

Southern Hotel, Tampico, 400. 

Spaniards in Mexico, 177; clubs of, 
Mexico City, 183. 

Stage-coaches, 350-351, 370. 

Statues, Mexico City, 100. 

Steamship lines, 395. 

Stephens, J. L., cited, 390. 

Stillwell, Arthur E., 409-410. 

Stone of Sacrifice, 87, 91. 

Storekeeping methods, 298-299. 

Strawberries at Iripuato, 355. 

Street-car fares, 97. 

Street-cars, Vera Cruz, 6; Orizaba, 
27; Mexico City, 46, 57, 97; 
Cuernavaca, 222; Puebla, 238; 
Guadalajara, 344, 346; Guana- 
juato, 356. 

Street of the Dead, Teotihuacan, 
110. 

Streets, Mexico City, 58; names of, 
64. 

Suburban life, growth of, 107. 

Suffrage, severely limited, 210. 

Sugar-cane regions, 322-326, 385. 

Sulphur mining on Mt. Popocatepetl, 
334. 

Sun Pyramid, 107-108. 

Sun-worship, 72. 

Swamps of hot lands, 383. 

Tabasco, State of, 383. 
Tacubaya, town of, 107. 
Tamales, 139. 
Tampico, 3, 394, 398-403. 
Tarpon fishing, 394, 399-403. 
Teatro Juarez, el, 358. 
Tehuacan, Mexican Carlsbad, 249- 
257. 



438 



INDEX 



Tehuantepec, Isthmus of, 378-393; 
city of, 390-393. 

Tehuantepec National Railway, 
378 ff., 388-389. 

Telsa, Manuel, statue by, 100. 

Temples, at Cholula, 245. 

Tezozomoc, Indian poet, 127. 

Theatre, at Guanajuato, 358. 

Theatres, Mexico City, 50, 131 ; Gua- 
dalajara, 343-344. 

Thieves' Market, 95. 

Thompson, David E., American am- 
bassador, 127. 

Titian, painting by, at Tzintzuntzan, 
372-375. 

Tlacolula, town of, 303-304. 

Tlapanecos, gold in land of, 368. 

Tlaxcala, town and State of, 247-248. 

Tobacco raising, 382. 

Toledo, Juan Telles, portrait painter, 
128. 

Toltecs, race of, 68-69; mementos 
of the, 107-109. 

Toluca, town of, 129. 

Topobolampo, harbor of, 409. 

Topo Chico springs, 418. 

Toro, station of, 220. 

Torreon, town of, 425. 

Tortilla, native bread, 32. 

Tourists, 171-173; at Cuernavaca, 
227-228; visit of the Mystic 
Shriners, 336-337, 344-345 ; visit 
of Western widows, 337-338. 

Tower, Reginald T., British represen- 
tative, 127. 

Tree of "la Noche Triste," 107; big 
tree of Tula, 303. 

Tres Marias, station of, 220, 221. 

Tropical Mexico, 378-393. See Hot 
lands. 

Tropic of Cancer, 415. 

Tula, village of, 302-303. 

Tumbago, 61; in cathedral, Mexico 
City, 88. 

Turkey vendors, 345. 

Typhoid, prevalence of, at Mexico 
City, 55. 

Tzintzuntzan, village of, 371-372; 
the Titian at, 372-375. 



Uniforms, military, 90, 218. 
United States. See Americans. 

Valencia, Martin de, 335. j 

Valenciana, Conde de, silver king, jf 

365. i" 

Vera Cruz, harbor of, 2 ; importance 

commercially, 3; early history 

of, 3-4; descrii^tion of, 5-12, 

394-395. 
Vera Cruz, State of, 383. 
Volcano, Colima, 348. 

Wages, of servants, 166; of peons, 
188; of native miners, 369; of 
cowboys, 420. 

Warner, Charles Dudley, quoted, 
375-376. 

Water-carriers, 34, 99. 

Watering-places, 249-257, 314-322, 
407, 415. 

Water supply, Mexico City, 99. 

Wheat, raising of, 237; in Chihua- 
hua, 410. 

Wines, absence of native, 141. 

Witchcraft, behef in, 311. 

Witches, Indian, 229. 

Women, in business, 56, 167-168; 
jealous protection of, 123, 157- 
159; lack of housekeeping 
knowledge, 125, 166; concern of, 
in church matters, 151, 165; ap- 
pearance of, 159, courtship of, 
161-162; smoking by, 165-166; 
lack of education in, 167; dress 
of, 168-169; Indian, 192-193; 
the Zapotec, at Tehuantepec, 
391-393. 

Women's rights, tabooed, 159. 

Woods, valuable, 383 

Xochicalco, ruins of, 231. 

Yaqui Indians, 185; warfare con- 
ducted by, in Sonora, 411-414. 

Yellow fever, extinction of, 11, 388. 

Y.M.C.A. in Mexico, 153. 

Young men, lack of responsibility of, 
178-179. 

Young Mexican party, 205. 



INDEX 



439 



Yucatan, Mayan Indians in, 186, 
391 ; cultivation of henequen in, 
329; railway possibilities in, 389. 

Zacatecas, silver mining at, 408. 
Zambrano, silver king, 364-365. 
Zapote, the, 32. 

Zapotec Indians, 271, 309, 311-313, 
391-393. 



Zaragoza, General, 83, 239. 

Zavaleta, scenic and climatic attrac- 
tions of, 284-285. 

Zavaleta gold mine, 272-282. 

Zayas Enriques, Senor de, champion 
of Yaquis, 411. 

Zocalo, park in Mexico City, 97. 

Zopilotes, in Vera Cruz, 11. 

Zyaboa, Mitla called, 309. 



31J-77-6 



•A 



